Sustainable Fabrication and Transfer of High-Precision Nanoparticle Arrays Using Recyclable Chemical Pattern Templates

Nanoparticle (NP) arrays, particularly those with plasmonic properties, have diverse applications in electronics, photonics, catalysis, and biosensing, but their precise and scalable fabrication remains challenging. In this work, a facile chemical-based strategy is presented for the fabrication of precise NP patterns using a combination of soft thermal nanoimprinting and template-directed assembly. The approach enables the creation of well-defined NP arrays with single-particle resolution and yields over 99%, covering a diverse range of NP sizes from 30 to 150 nm. These patterns can be transferred onto various substrates including semiconductors, insulators, 2D materials, and flexible polymers, maintaining high uniformity and repeatability for over 60 cycles with minimal degradation. Moreover, the method enables the fabrication of extensive NP arrays up to 1 cm with a positional accuracy of ±11 nm for 30 nm NPs. As a result, the obtained silver NP arrays exhibit ultranarrow surface lattice resonances with a linewidth of 4 nm and a quality factor (Q) of 216. The method offers new avenues for the creation of plasmonic NP arrays for flexible and wearable devices.