For practical application of nanomaterials, it is often necessary to construct the tiny building blocks into functional macroscopic structures that can be integrated with conventional devices. Therefore, developing techniques which allows the assembly of nanomaterials with good control and reliability becomes an important challenge. Herein, we approach this challenge by confining the self-assembly of nanoparticles at liquid-liquid, air-liquid, or solid-liquid interfaces. Discussion will start with the Langmuir-Blodgett technique, which can be used to prepare monolayer films of nanomaterials using air-water interface as the platform. Then, we will introduce diffusion driven layer-by-layer (dd-LbL) assembly, and show how this technique can be used for creating porous scaffolds of graphene oxide. Finally, we will discuss methods to utilize ice as a template to create various porous nanostructures. Potential application of the constructed scaffolds for energy storage and water treatment will also be discussed.

“Three-dimensional reduced graphene oxide/polyaniline nanocomposite film prepared by diffusion driven layer-by-layer assembly for high-performance supercapacitors”, J. Power Sources 2017, 343,

“Application of diffusion-driven layer-by-layer assembly for fabricating compact graphene-based supercapacitors”, Adv. Mater. Interfaces 2016, 3, 1600260.

“Diffusion driven layer-by-layer assembly of graphene oxide nanosheets into porous three-dimensional macrostructures”, Nat. Commun. 2014, DOI: 10.1038/ncomms6254.