Self-Organised Nanoparticle Assemblies: A Panoply of Patterns

An overview of self-organisation in an archetypal nanostructured system-2D nanoparticle assemblies-is given. We first focus on the parallels that may be drawn for pattern formation in nanoscopic, microscopic, and macroscopic systems (spanning, for example, nanoparticle arrays, phase-separated polymers, diatom microskeletons, and binary fluid separation) before discussing the quantification of morphology and topology in nanostructured matter. The question of quantification is of key importance for the development of programmable or directed assembly and we highlight the central role that image morphometry can play in the software control of matter. The nanostructured systems we describe are, in very many cases, far from their ground state and we show that Monte Carlo simulations (based on the approach pioneered by Rabani et al. [Nature 426 (2003) 271]) provide important insights into the coarsening (i.e. approach to equilibrium) of nanoparticle arrays. We conclude with a consideration of the near-term prospects for programmable matter.