TABLE OF CONTENTS We have reviewed recent advances in the synthesis and applications of chemically-modified metal nanoparticle hybrid systems. Diverse synthetic methods are available to synthesize and functionalize metal nanoparticles of controlled sizes and shapes. The functional nanoparticles have enabled the preparation of organized two-dimensional and three-dimensional structures on surfaces. These architectures are generated by covalent bonds or supramolecular binding interactions between the functionalized particles and the respective surfaces or by interparticle linkage of particles that contain complementary functionalities. The functional nanoparticle hybrid systems reveal unique optical, electronic, catalytic, photonic and sensoric functions in solutions and upon their integration with electronic transducers.
The future perspectives of chemically-modified metal nanoparticles certainly lie in the area of functional nanodevices. The size-controlled capacitance properties of metal nanoparticles, the single-electron charging features of nanoparticles, the tunneling barriers introduced by chemical modification layers, and the ability to switch the electronic wave functions of capped metal nanoparticles by redox processes or photochemical reactions, yield new building units to nanoengineer functional smart devices. Numerous applications of such nanodevices in information storage and processing are envisaged. Different scanning microscopy techniques to manipulate and assemble nano-structures on surfaces exist. These include, for example, the lateral movement and positioning of nano-objects on surfaces by an AFM tip,333 the chemical patterning of surfaces with nanoparticles using dip-pen lithography methods332 and the nano-capillary delivery of chemical structures on surfaces. These provide invaluable tools for the future fabrication of nanodevices. To reach these goals, however, the development of means to connect and...
