Fabrication of Large‐Area, Transferable Colloidal Monolayers Utilizing Self‐Assembly at the Air/Water Interface

Abstract

A versatile and simple method is presented for the rapid fabrication of close‐packed colloidal 2D crystals with large domain sizes by floating and redeposition of colloidal monolayers at the air/water interface. A detailed analysis of the particle surface transformation and packing during the individual steps of the monolayer fabrication process has been conducted. It was found that the quality of the monolayer depends on parameters like colloidal particle distribution on the initial substrate, subphase pH, and addition of surfactants. The floating monolayers could be transferred and stacked onto many substrate types, regardless of surface polarity, roughness, or curvature.

A colloidoscope of colloid-based porous materials and their uses

“…111,112 They can also be pre-assembled at a liquid interface and subsequently transferred to a solid substrate. [113][114][115][116] The choice of assembly technique depends on the requirements with respect to the area to be coated, which have recently been discussed in detail. 52,117 Colloidal monolayers can be especially valuable as templates or masks for etching or evaporation processes to create functional surface nanostructures or coatings.…”

Enhanced adhesion of bioinspired nanopatterned elastomers via colloidal surface assembly

“…The increased electrostatic repulsion counteracts the attractive van der Waals and capillary forces. Consequently, the particles remained more mobile at the interface, resulting in more ordered monolayers [20,22,23]. Thus, at pH 3, particles that approach each other closely (i.e.…”

“…For example, Pan et al [21] introduced a dynamic interface, by stirring the aqueous subphase, to facilitate colloidal crystal formation at the air/water interface. Retsch et al [22] reported a two-step procedure in which colloids are applied to a glass slide by spin-coating. Subsequently, a colloidal monolayer was formed upon immersion of the glass slide in an aqueous surfactant solution [22].…”

“…Retsch et al [22] reported a two-step procedure in which colloids are applied to a glass slide by spin-coating. Subsequently, a colloidal monolayer was formed upon immersion of the glass slide in an aqueous surfactant solution [22]. Assembly at the air/water interface was also successfully achieved by using interfacial deposition via a glass slide [23] and a needle tip [24].…”

Fabrication and Photo-Detecting Performance of 2D ZnO Inverse Opal Films

“…As recently reviewed in detail by Jonas et al [6], MCC templates can be achieved by a variety of methods, including dip-coating, spin-coating, slope self-assembly, etc. [7][8][9][10][11][12]. Regarding infiltration and replication strategies, evaporation deposition, electrochemical deposition, and solution/sol-based infiltration methods are mainly included [13][14][15].…”