| Schematic of an ordered hybrid organic/inorganic/biological
nanomaterial. The underlying blue surface is a three-dimensional atomic
force microscope image of a diblock copolymer thin film in which the nanoscopic
cylindrical domains have been aligned via lithographic-directed self-assembly.
Such surfaces can be used as highly ordered adsorption templates for many
functional materials. Depicted here are Au nanowires, magnetic nanoparticles,
and DNA molecules; however, the fabrication approach can be applied to
a broad spectrum of nanoscale species. This hierarchical methodology combines
top-down and bottom-up techniques, transcending the limitations inherent
to each. Potential applications include photonics, electronics, magnetism,
catalysis, and biosensors. |
