Self-assembly of polytetrafluoroethylene nanoparticle films using repulsive electrostatic interactions.

ABSTRACT

An approach for manufacturing polytetrafluoroethylene nanoparticle films using repulsive electrostatic interactions was developed. This approach used the strong repulsive force between colloidal nanoparticles and a substrate surface to cause the colloidal nanoparticles to suspend and self-assemble at a near-wall equilibrium position. A suspended monolayer was formed and was subsequently deposited on the substrate surface. A relatively large-area (3 × 3 cm(2)), close-packed unordered monolayer of polytetrafluoroethylene nanoparticles was observed. Multilayer nanoparticle films were also generated by increasing the particle concentration and deposition time. This work confirms the feasibility of nanoparticle self-assembly under repulsive electrostatic interactions and provides new routes for the large-area fabrication of monolayer and multilayer close-packed nanoparticle films.