Patterning of Molecules/Ions via Reverse Micelle Vessels by Nanoxerography

Abstract

Precise patterning of molecules/ions in the nanometer scale is a crucial but challenging technique for the fabrication of advanced functional nanodevices. We developed a robust method to print molecules/ions into arbitrarily defined patterns with sub-20 nm precision assisted by reverse micelles. The reverse micelle, serving as a nano-sized vessel, can load molecules/ions and then be patterned onto the predefined positions by electrostatic attraction. The number of molecules/ions on each spot, the spot spacing, and pattern shapes can be flexibly adjusted, reaching 10 nm position accuracy, 30 nm spot size, and 100 nm spot spacing (>250,000 DPI). Then, water-soluble dye molecules, protein molecules, and chloroaurate ions were loaded in the micelles and successfully patterned into nanoarrays, which provides an important platform for the convenient, flexible, and robust fabrication of functional molecule/ion-based nanodevices, such as biochips, for high-throughput and ultrasensitive analysis.

Turn-on fluorescence humidity sensing based on Cs4PbBr6 nanocrystal array

“…Typically, we fabricated a nano-array of synthesized Cs 4 PbX 6 NCs on a substrate using modified AFM nanoxerography. 45–56 By arranging only dozens of Cs 4 PbX 6 NCs per spot, the nano-sensor exhibited significantly enhanced fluorescence sensitivity in specific humidity environments, enabling fast fluorescence response speed that initiated within one minute and stabilized in less than six minutes. Through statistical analysis of fluorescence changes in 10 × 10 spots (spot pitch: 5 μm), we established a working curve correlating these changes with different humidity levels.…”