Speaker
Description
Self-assembly of gold nanoclusters produces nano- to mesoscale structures with enhanced optical and electronic properties, making them promising building blocks for functional nanomaterials and plasmonic devices. These properties are commonly investigated using spectroscopic techniques, which typically provide only indirect information about the underlying structure. Directly characterizing the structural organization of such assemblies at the nanoscale therefore remains challenging.
Here we recorded single-shot coherent diffraction images at the Coherent X-ray Imaging (CXI) endstation of the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) using intense, few-femtosecond X-ray pulses to investigate assemblies of 1 nm gold nanoclusters.
The recorded diffraction patterns reveal signatures of ordered arrangements within the nanocluster assemblies, extending from hundreds of nanometers up to several hundred micrometers. Such length scales are difficult to access with conventional techniques such as TEM or synchrotron SAXS/WAXS, which are limited by sample thickness, field of view, and scattering contrast. Numerical simulations reproduce the observed scattering features and provide additional insight into the structural organization within the assemblies. Our results demonstrate the capability of ultrafast coherent diffraction imaging to probe the structure of self-assembled nanocluster materials and pave the way for time-resolved studies of dynamic self-assembly processes.