Advanced Materials, Vol.16, No.1, 76-76, 2004
Electric field singularity assisted nanopatterning
Ordered arrays of Pt nanoparticles (see Figure) have been produced on a reconstructed alumina surface that serves as a template for nanopatterning. The Pt particles condense from an undersaturated vapor phase only along the crest regions on the reconstructed plane. It is shown that the presence of an electric field singularity leads at the crest regions to the highly site-specific formation of nanoparticles.