Assembly of gold nanoparticles of different diameters between nanogap electrodes

Gold nanoparticles (NPs) of different diameters i.e., 5, 10, and 20 nm, were assembled between 20 nm gap electrodes using ac dielectrophoresis (DEP) process. DEP parameters, such as frequency, trapping time, and voltage of value 1 MHz, 1 s, and 2–3 V, respectively, led to the pearl-chain assembly corresponding to each type of NPs between 20 nm gap electrodes. Mutual DEP could be attributed to the NPs chaining in low field regions and subsequently the DEP force directs these chains to the trapping region. Such controlled assembly of individual NPs may find application in fabricating devices for molecular electronics.