Self-assembly of nanoparticles

Self-assembly is a phenomenon where the components of a system assemble themselves spontaneously via an interaction to form a larger functional unit. This spontaneous organization can be due to direct specific interaction and/or indirectly through their environment. Due to the increasing technological advancements, the study of materials in the nanometre scale is becoming more important. The ability to assemble nanoparticles into well-defined configuration in space is crucial to the development of electronic devices that are small but can contain plenty of information. The spatial arrangements of these self-assembled nanoparticles can be potentially used to build increasingly complex structures leading to a wide variety of materials that can be used for different purposes.At the molecular level, intermolecular force hold the spontaneous gathering of molecules into a well-defined and stable structure together. In chemical solutions, self-assembly is an outcome of random motion of molecules and the affinity of their binding sites for one another. In the area of nanotechnology, developing a simple, efficient method to organize molecules and molecular clusters into precise, pre-determined structure is crucial.