Abstract
Uniformly dispersed deposition of various nanoparticles (gold and silver of
20
-
50
nm
) and nanowires (ZnO and
V
O
x
) on different surfaces (Si, GaAs, mica, and steel) was obtained by boiling colloid drops on preheated substrates. Our results suggest a deposition mechanism based on the formation of microdrops induced by boiling. Indeed, microdrops produced by an ink-jet printing system resulted in uniformly dispersed deposits when the substrate was heated to high temperatures. We demonstrate that boil-deposited gold nanoparticles could be used for the catalytic growth of ZnO nanowires as well as for the manipulation of individual particles by means of an atomic force microscope.