Sandwiched: Investigating Non-Invasive 2D Confinement of Nanostructures

Abstract

DNA-tethered metallic nanoparticles are a promising class of building blocks for nanocrystals. Due to their unique emergent optical and electronic properties these nanostructures have been the focus of much research in recent years. To thoroughly understand the properties of these nanostructures—which are constantly in motion—we must study their dynamics. Observations of their motion, however, require these structures to be confined to two dimensions. At this scale, confinement is very perturbative to these artificial structures. In this thesis, we investigate a simple form of confinement we call a fluid sandwich that is, in principle, less invasive to nanostructure dynamics. We begin by reviewing the existing methods of 2D confinement with an eye towards their potential perturbative effects. We, then, discuss the trials to create this configuration, summarizing the core challenges we encounter. Finally, we synthesize the lessons from our work and suggest a promising path forward to create a fluid sandwich.