Patterned Colloidal Deposition Controlled by Electrostatic and Capillary Forces

[Under construction -- Nick Schade (fall 2009)]

The deposition and self-assembly of charged colloidal particles can be controlled using substrates chemically micropatterned with either positively or negatively charged regions. In this process, electrostatic forces first cause colloids to be attracted to the region of the substrate of the opposite charge. Then additional ordering of the colloidal particles occurs as the suspension dries due to lateral capillary interactions. This technique enables the fabrication of complex two-dimensional arrays of colloidal particles.

General Information

Keywords: colloid, self-assembly, charged interfaces

Authors: Joanna Aizenberg, Paul V. Braun, and Pierre Wiltzius.

Date: March 27, 2000.

Lucent Technologies, Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, NJ 07974, USA

Physical Review Letters, vol. 84, no. 13, 2997-3000. [1]