EXPLORING THE ASSEMBLY OF AN ALL-INORGANIC NANOROD POLYMER

Abstract

The assembly of anisotropic nanocrystals is important in the area of solution processable optoelectronic devices, bridging the gap between the performance of an individual nanostructure and that of the ensemble. This thesis describes the work done on the assembly of anisotropically shaped semiconductor nanocrystals, as well as some investigations on their physical properties. We developed a method to assemble nanorods together end-to-end via a reactive inorganic intermediate and show that the method allows us to build up complex assemblies from simple elementary nanocrystals. This is followed by an elaboration of our work to model the method, inspired by polymerisation models. With an understanding of its constraints, we show that we are able to build up these structures to nearly micron lengthscales. Our investigation on the physical properties of these semiconductor nanocrystal polymers is then described where we demonstrate that these nanostructures are flexible and investigate the underlying causes.