Abstract: 

Controllable nanoparticle organization is a major goal of bottom-up assembly, as these materials can offer emergent properties useful in applications such as sensing and electronics. However, it remains a challenge to have controllable organization of nanoparticles in finite assemblies at the nanoscale. We demonstrate the assembly of CdSe/CdS core-shell quantum dots into highly ordered spherical lattices using solvent-induced assembly of poly(styrene)-block-poly(acrylic acid). It was further shown that the inter-quantum dot spacing could be tuned with retained organization. We also demonstrate the polymer-directed assembly of poly(styrene)-functionalized gold nanoparticles into unique architectures using the same block copolymer system and self-assembly conditions. Electron microscopy, 3D tomography reconstruction, and small-angle X-ray scattering prove high levels of organization are retained and scale with increased interparticle spacing. This non-specific method of nanoparticle assembly offers promise as a generalizable, bottom-up method to achieving nanoparticle organization for next-generation organic-inorganic photonic meta materials.