SummaryOne key component in the assembly of nanoparticles is their precise positioning to enable the creation of new complex nano-objects. Controlling the nanoscale interactions is crucial for the prediction and understanding of the behaviour of nanoparticles (NPs) during their assembly. In the present work, we have manipulated bare and functionalized gold nanoparticles on flat and patterned silicon and silicon coated substrates with dynamic atomic force microscopy (AFM). Under ambient conditions, the particles adhere to silicon until a critical drive amplitude is reached by oscillations of the probing tip. Beyond that threshold, the particles start to follow different directions, depending on their geometry, size and adhesion to the substrate. Higher and respectively, lower mobility was observed when the gold particles were coated with methyl (–CH3) and hydroxyl (–OH) terminated thiol groups. This major result suggests that the adhesion of the particles to the substrate is strongly reduced by the presence of hydrophobic interfaces. The influence of critical parameters on the manipulation was investigated and discussed viz. the shape, size and grafting of the NPs, as well as the surface chemistry and the patterning of the substrate, and finally the operating conditions (temperature, humidity and scan velocity). Whereas the operating conditions and substrate structure are shown to have a strong effect on the mobility of the particles, we did not find any differences when manipulating ordered vs random distributed particles.

Here we demonstrate how confined nanobubbles and nanodroplets, which can either form spontaneously at the suspension/substrate interface, or can more interestingly be purposely introduced in the system, allow assembly of nanoparticles (NPs) into nanoring-like structures with a flexible control of both the size and distribution. As with most wetting-mediated nanopatterning methods, this approach provides an alternative to direct replication from templates. The formation of two-dimensional ring-shaped nanostructures was obtained by drying a nanocolloidal gold (Au) suspension drop confining nanobubbles (or nanodroplets) that are settled at a solid substrate. AFM investigation of the dry nanostructures showed the formation of isolated Au NPs rings having diameters ranging from 200 nm to 500 nm along the dewetting-drying path of the suspension drop. The flexibility of these wetting processes for the variation of the spatial features of the nanoring (size and shape resolution) essentially depends on physical parameters such as the nanobubble/nanodroplet size and concentration, the wettability, and the evaporation rate of the nanofluid drop on the substrate. Furthermore, we show that the underpinning mechanism of this evaporation-assisted assembly of Au NPs into supported functional nanoring patterns is fairly similar to that at work in the spontaneous formation of nanoholes in drying polymer thin films. Finally, the method proves to be a simple and flexible nanofabrication tool to be extended to various nanosize objects, towards specific optical and sensing applications.

The corrosion behaviour of the aluminium alloy, AA6082, processed by equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) after different passes (route E, room temperature) was studied in comparison to the coarse-grained counterpart. The results of the electrochemical investigations (cyclovoltammetry; electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, EIS) are presented in correlation with the microstructure before and after the corrosion examinations. Both, chemical (precipitations, phases) and physical (dislocations, high-angle grain boundaries, grain size, low-angle grain boundaries) inhomogeneities characterize the microstructure of this commercially used Al-Mg-Si alloy. Results indicate an improved resistance against pitting of the ECAP material expressed by a reduced pitting density of up to 50 % and lower pit depths. EIS measurements and microstructural examinations (scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, 3D topography measurement) confirm that ECAP modifies the number, size and distribution of these inhomogeneities, which leads to a more favourable corrosion behaviour.

We report the results of a model study on the interrelation among the occurrence of complex aggregation patterns in drying nanofluids, the size of the constitutive nanoparticles (NPs), and the drying temperature, which is a critical issue in the genesis of complex drying patterns that was never systematically reported before. We show that one can achieve fine control over the occurrence and topological features of these drying-mediated complex structures through the combination of the particle size, the drying temperature, and the substrate surface energy. Most importantly, we show that a transition in the occurrence of the patterns appears with the temperature and the particle size, which accounts for the size dependence of the thermomechanical stability of the aggregates in the nanoscale range. Using simple phenomenological and scaling considerations, we showed that the thermomechanical stability of the aggregates was underpinned by physical quantities that scale with the size of the NPs (R) either as R(-2) or R(-3). These insights into the size-dependent dissipation mechanisms in nanoclusters should help in designing NPs-based structures with tailored thermomechanical and environmental stability and hence with an optimized morphological stability that guarantees their long-term functional properties.