A transmission electron microscope image by Rice University scientists shows a silver nanosheet deformed by a particle, which forms flower-shaped stress contours in the nanosheet that indicate a bump. Image: The Jones Lab/Rice University.New research has revealed that the hills are alive with the force of van der Walls. Researchers at Rice University have found that nature's ubiquitous 'weak' force is sufficient to indent rigid nanosheets, extending their potential for use in nanoscale optics or catalytic systems.
Changing the shape of nanoscale particles changes their electromagnetic properties, said Matt Jones, an assistant professor of chemistry and an assistant professor of materials science and nanoengineering at Rice University. That makes the phenomenon worth further study.
"People care about particle shape, because the shape changes its optical properties," Jones said. "This is a totally novel way of changing the shape of a particle." He and his colleagues report their work in a paper in Nano Letters.
Van der Waals is a weak force that allows neutral molecules to attract one another through randomly fluctuating dipoles, or separated opposite charges, depending on distance. Though small, its effects can be seen in the macro world, like when geckos walk up walls.
"Van der Waals forces are everywhere and, essentially, at the nanoscale everything is sticky," Jones said. "When you put a large, flat particle on a large, flat surface, there's a lot of contact, and it's enough to permanently deform a particle that's really thin and flexible."
In the new study, the Rice team decided to see if this force could be used to manipulate 8nm-thick sheets of ductile silver. After a mathematical model suggested it was possible, the researchers placed 15nm-wide iron oxide nanospheres on a surface and then sprinkled prism-shaped nanosheets over them.
Without applying any other force, they saw through a transmission electron microscope that the nanosheets acquired permanent bumps where none existed before, right on top of the spheres. As measured, the distortions were about 10 times larger than the width of the spheres.
These hills weren't very high, but simulations confirmed that van der Waals attraction between the sheet and the substrate surrounding the spheres was sufficient to influence the plasticity of the silver sheet's crystalline atomic lattice. The researchers also showed that the same effect would occur in silicon dioxide and cadmium selenide nanosheets, and perhaps other compounds.
"We were trying to make really thin, large silver nanoplates and when we started taking images, we saw these strange, six-fold strain patterns, like flowers," said Jones, who earned a multiyear Packard Fellowship in 2018 to develop advanced microscopy techniques.
"It didn't make any sense, but we eventually figured out that it was a little ball of gunk that the plate was draped over, creating the strain," he said. "We didn't think anyone had investigated that, so we decided to have a look.
"What it comes down to is that when you make a particle really thin, it becomes really flexible, even if it's a rigid metal."
In further experiments, the researchers discovered that the nanospheres could be used to control the shape of the deformation, ranging from single ridges when two spheres are close together to saddle shapes or isolated bumps when the spheres are farther apart. They determined that sheets less than about 10nm thick and with aspect ratios of about 100 are most amenable to deformation.
In the paper, the researchers noted their technique creates "a new class of curvilinear structures based on substrate topography" that "would be difficult to generate lithographically". That opens up new possibilities for electromagnetic devices that are especially relevant to nanophotonic research. Straining the silver lattice could also turn the inert metal into a possible catalyst, by creating defects where chemical reactions can happen.
"This gets exciting because now most people make these kinds of metamaterials through lithography," Jones said. "That's a really powerful tool, but once you've used that to pattern your metal, you can never change it.
"Now we have the option, perhaps someday, to build a material that has one set of properties and then change it by deforming it. Because the forces required to do so are so small, we hope to find a way to toggle between the two."
This story is adapted from material from Rice University, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier. Link to original source.