Polyelectrolyte and nanoparticle adsorption to nanopatterned surfaces

The adsorption of polyelectrolytes and nanoparticles onto patterned and curved surfaces is investigated (by fluorescence and electron microscopy) and exploited to produce anisotropic patchy particles. Various anisotropic properties are necessary for the self-assembly of complex structures. In this work, particles were bound temporarily to a substrate, so that part of their surfaces is occluded during subsequent surface modification by the adsorption of polyelectrolyte. The substrate surface charge has a significant effect on the adsorption of particles, which provided several advantages in comparison to bare glass substrates. These include much reduced deposition time, a high degree of coverage, and the ability to accommodate both negatively and positively charged particles. Moreover, patch production yield is consistently 99 $\pm $ 1 {\%}. Rapid coating methods transferable to roll-to-roll processing were tested, and step-by-step characterization methods to evaluate yield were developed. High-yield site-specific binding of complementary spheres to the lithographic region of patchy particles and surfaces was demonstrated, including binding to positive and negative patches.