Dried to Order: Electronic and Mechanical Properties of Self- Assembled Nanoparticle Monolayers Heinrich M. Jaeger, Professor of Physics, The James Franck Institute, Department of Physics, University of Chicago

Close-packed nanoparticles form a new class of solids with unique behavior that arises from the interplay of nanoscale confinement and tunable coupling. I will discuss experiments performed on the ultrathin limit of such solids, a single layer of close-packed metal nanoparticles that are separated by short spacer molecules. Such layers can be self-assembled with very high degree of structural order by a simple drying mechanism. With inter-particle spacings of 1-2nm, electrons can tunnel across these layers and the resulting nonlinear current-voltage characteristics reflect strong Coulomb blockade effects. Surprisingly, the short molecular spacers also provide for tensile strength and the layers can be draped over holes, forming flexible membranes of remarkable resilience.