Eur. Phys. J. E (2016) 39: 57
https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/i2016-16057-x

Colloquium

Self-assembly of nanomaterials at fluid interfaces

¹ Department of of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, USA
² Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA
³ Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Berkeley, USA

^* e-mail: russell@mail.pse.umass.edu

Received: 29 February 2016
Revised: 23 April 2016
Accepted: 26 April 2016
Published online: 31 May 2016

Abstract

Recent developments in the field of the self-assembly of nanoscale materials such as nanoparticles, nanorods and nanosheets at liquid/liquid interfaces are reviewed. Self-assembly behavior of both biological and synthetic particles is discussed. For biological nanoparticles, the nanoparticle assembly at fluid interfaces provides a simple route for directing nanoparticles into 2D or 3D constructs with hierarchical ordering. The interfacial assembly of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) at liquid interfaces would play a key role in applications such as nanotube fractionation, flexible electronic thin-film fabrication and synthesis of porous SWCNT/polymer composites foams. Liquids can be structured by the jamming of nanoparticle surfactants at fluid interfaces. By controlling the interfacial packing of nanoparticle surfactants using external triggers, a new class of materials can be generated that combines the desirable characteristics of fluids such as rapid transport of energy carriers with the structural stability of a solid.