Controlled deposition of nanoparticles with critical Casimir forces

Nanocrystal assembly represents the key fabrication step to develop next-generation optoelectronic devices with properties defined from the bottom-up. Despite numerous efforts, our limited understanding of nanoscale interactions has so far delayed the establishment of assembly conditions leading to reproducible superstructure morphologies, therefore hampering integration with large-scale, industrial processes. In this work, we demonstrate the deposition of a layer of semiconductor nanocrystals on a flat and unpatterned silicon substrate as mediated by the interplay of critical Casimir attraction and electrostatic repulsion. We show experimentally and rationalize with Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics simulations how this assembly process can be biased towards the formation of 2D layers or 3D islands and how the morphology of the deposited superstructure can be tuned from crystalline to amorphous. Our findings demonstrate the potential of the critical Casimir interaction to direct the growth of future artificial solids based on nanocrystals as the ultimate building blocks.