Size-Controlled Nanoparticle Clusters of Narrow Size-Polydispersity Formed Using Multiple Particle Types Through Competitive Stabilizer Desorption to a Liquid-Liquid Interface.

A novel colloidal approach is presented for preparing fully dispersed nanoparticle (NP) assemblies (clusters) of narrow size-polydispersity over a wide range of sizes through irreversible depletion of stabilizing ligands onto a liquid-liquid interface. Unusually, the relative monodispersity of the assemblies continuously improves throughout the process. A detailed kinetics study into the assembly of iron oxide NP clusters shows that the assembly rate decreases with NP concentration, pinpointing the role of the interface in size focusing.

Monodisperse magnetic nanoparticle assemblies prepared at scale by competitive stabiliser desorption.

We report a scalable and reproducible method to assemble magnetic nanoparticle clusters from oleic acid stabilised iron oxide nanoparticles. By controlling the surface coverage of oleic acid on the nanoparticle surface we have achieved controlled nanoparticle assembly following exposure of the suspension to a substrate layer of cyanopropyl-modified silica which competes for the ligand. The clusters can be formed reproducibly and their final size can be selected over a range covering almost two orders of magnitude.