Controlling the two-dimensional adhesion and organization of colloidal gold nanoparticles

Binary heterogeneous surfaces composed of nanoscale hydrophilic and hydrophobic domains were used to control the aggregation morphology of gold nanoparticles from a colloidal suspension. By adjusting the nature and electron donating–accepting properties of the hydrophilic surface phase, the aggregation morphology could be varied from two-dimensional close-packed arrays or isolated clusters at homogeneous surfaces to interconnected networks of well-defined topologies at binary surfaces. These results provide a simple and flexible way toward the controlled fabrication of two-dimensional arrays of colloidal nanoparticles.