Hierarchical self-assembly of 3D lattices from polydisperse anisometric colloids
Hierarchical self-assembly of 3D lattices from polydisperse anisometric colloids
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DOI：
10.1038/s41467-019-09787-6
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发表时间：
2019-04-18
影响因子：
16.6
通讯作者：
Chen, Qian
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Luo, Binbin;Kim, Ahyoung;Chen, Qian
胶体根据大小主要分为两种类型。微米尺度的胶体被广泛用作研究相变的模型系统，而纳米颗粒则具有其尺寸所特有的物理化学性质。在这里，我们研究了一种有前途但尚未开发的第三种类型：非等距胶体，它将微米和纳米尺寸集成到同一颗粒中。我们展示了具有高多分散性的不对称银片的原型系统，出乎意料地组装成有序的三维晶格。实时成像和相互作用建模阐明了不均匀性的关键作用，它指导分层组装到二级构建块-列-这是足够的单分散进一步排序。离子强度和板尖形态控制着柱的形状，从而控制着最终的晶格结构（六边形与蜂窝状）。我们的联合实验模型研究证明了在非等距胶体中编码非常规组装的潜力，这可能会引入微米或纳米尺度胶体无法获得的特性和相行为。
Colloids are mainly divided into two types defined by size. Micron-scale colloids are widely used as model systems to study phase transitions, while nanoparticles have physicochemical properties unique to their size. Here we study a promising yet underexplored third type: anisometric colloids, which integrate micrometer and nanometer dimensions into the same particle. We show that our prototypical system of anisometric silver plates with a high polydispersity assemble, unexpectedly, into an ordered, three-dimensional lattice. Real-time imaging and interaction modeling elucidate the crucial role of anisometry, which directs hierarchical assembly into secondary building blocks-columns-which are sufficiently monodisperse for further ordering. Ionic strength and plate tip morphology control the shape of the columns, and therefore the final lattice structures (hexagonal versus honeycomb). Our joint experiment-modeling study demonstrates potentials of encoding unconventional assembly in anisometric colloids, which can likely introduce properties and phase behaviors inaccessible to micron- or nanometer-scale colloids.