In a new study performed at the Center for Nanoscale
Materials at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory,
researchers have for the first time seen the self-assembly of nanoparticle
chains in situ, that is, in place as it occurs in real-time.
The scientists exposed a tiny liquid “cell” or pouch that
contained gold nanoparticles covered with a positively charged coating to an
intense beam of electrons generated with a transmission electron microscope.
Some of the electrons that penetrated the outside of the cell became trapped in
the fluid medium in the cell. These “hydrated” electrons attracted the
positively charged nanoparticles, which in time reduced the intensity of charge
of the positive coating.