Wednesday, June 18, 2008 - 10:20 AM
Room 7a (McKimmon Conference Center)
458

Orthogonal Self-Assembly of Gold and Platinum Nanoparticles Evidenced by Atomic Force Microscopy

Matthew S. Lewis, Kusum L. Chandra, and Christopher B. Gorman. North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC

While significant effort has been put towards the creation of a molecular electronic device a major hurtle that stands in the way is that of self-directed assembly. While some groups have reported examples of orthogonal self-assembly, there is a lack of statistical data to show what type of throughput would be available in these assembly operations. In this work, we have utilized a bifunctional phenyl ethynylene oligomer with thiol and isonitrile end groups microcontact printed on both gold and platinum (111) surfaces. Upon incubation of these patterned substrates with gold and/or platinum nanoparticles, a statistical assessment for orthogonal self-assembly of substrate/molecule/nanoparticle conjugates can be made. Preliminary studies show that a homogenous solution of gold and platinum nanoparticles can be self-directed with high efficiency towards specific binding groups.