Article Title

Closely packed nanoparticle monolayer as a strain gauge fabricated by convective assembly at a confined angle

Authors

Chao Zhang, School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China
Juan Li, School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China
Shanshan Yang, School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China
Weihong Jiao, School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China
Shuang Xiao, School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China
Mingqing Zou, School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China
Songliu Yuan, School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China
Fei Xiao, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China
Shuai Wang, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China
and Lihua Qian, School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China

Keywords

convective assembly, strain gauge, contact angle, gold nanoparticles

Abstract

The reliability and sensitivity of a strain gauge made from a nanoparticle monolayer intrinsically depend on electron tunneling between the adjacent nanoparticles, so that creating nanoscale interstitials with uniform distribution and tuning the interparticle separation reversibly during cyclic mechanical stress are two vital issues for performance enhancement. In this work, one assembly technique is initialized to fabricate parallel nanoparticle strips by precisely tailoring the contact angle of a gold colloid on a substrate. The assembly of a nanoparticle monolayer with a close-packed pattern can be simultaneously switched on and off by independently varying the contact angle across a threshold value of 4.2°. This nanoparticle strip shows a reversible and reliable electrical response even if a mechanical strain as small as 0.027% is periodically supplied, implying well-controlled electron tunneling between the adjacent nanoparticles.

Graphical Abstract

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-014-0443-x

Publisher

Tsinghua University Press

Recommended Citation

Chao Zhang,Juan Li,Shanshan Yang,Weihong Jiao,Shuang Xiao,Mingqing Zou,Songliu Yuan,Fei Xiao,Shuai Wang,Lihua Qian, Closely packed nanoparticle monolayer as a strain gauge fabricated by convective assembly at a confined angle. NanoRes.2014, 7(6): 824–834