Surface modifications for iron oxide nanoparticle assembly

Iron oxide particles have many attractive applications. This paper investigates the influence of both hydrophobic and hydrophilic surface modification for iron oxide particle assembly. Two surface modification strategies, atmospheric N₂ plasma treatment and silanization have been tested on aluminum, copper, and silicon dioxide thin film. Based on the contrast of hydrophilic properties of different materials, one can assemble iron oxide particles through confined crystallization with spatial selectivity across large scale areas for emerging applications. The experiment results present detailed methods and promising results of iron oxide particle assembly on various metallic thin films.