Assembly of iron oxide nanocrystal superstructures

In this work we report on the self-assembly of monodisperse iron oxide nanocrystals on silica-coated Au surfaces achieved by magnetic field-assisted solution deposition techniques and discuss the effects of the interactions that contribute to promote their ordered arrangement into small clusters, chain-like structures or high-density particle multilayer superlattices. The results highlight the roles of inter-particle and nanocrystalsubstrate interactions in controlling the nucleation and growth of self-assembled clusters and superstructures made of spherical magnetic nanocrystals. © 2013 by American Scientific Publishers.