Colloidal Assembly: The Road from Particles to Colloidal Molecules and Crystals

Li, Fan; Josephson, David P.; Stein, Andreas

doi:10.1002/anie.201001451

Cited by 680 publications

(598 citation statements)

References 284 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

594

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The self-assembly of colloidal particles in three dimensions creates closepacked structures with long-range order if the particles are sufficiently similar in size and if the assembly process is well-controlled. [54][55][56] The colloids assemble in a face-centered cubic crystal structure with periodicities in the hundred-nanometer range, as defined by the individual colloidal particle size. Colloidal crystals, for example in Figure 3A, are also known as opals.…”

Section: Control Over Structural Features In Colloidal Assembliesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A colloidoscope of colloid-based porous materials and their uses

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Nature evolved a variety of hierarchical structures that produce sophisticated functions. Inspired by these natural materials, colloidal self-assembly provides a convenient way to produce structures from simple building blocks with a variety of complex functions beyond those found in nature. In particular, colloid-based porous materials (CBPM) can be made from a wide variety of materials. The internal structure of CBPM also has several key attributes, namely porosity on a sub-micrometer length scale, interconnectivity of these pores, and a controllable degree of order. The combination of structure and composition allow CBPM to attain properties important for modern applications such as photonic inks, colorimetric sensors, self-cleaning surfaces, water purification systems, or batteries. This review summarizes recent developments in the field of CBPM, including principles for their design, fabrication, and applications, with a particular focus on structural features and materials' properties that enable these applications. We begin with a short introduction to the wide variety of patterns that can be generated by colloidal self-assembly and templating processes. We then discuss different applications of such structures, focusing on optics, wetting, sensing, catalysis, and electrodes. Different fields of applications require different properties, yet the modularity of the assembly process of CBPM provides a high degree of tunability and tailorability in composition and structure. We examine the significance of properties such as structure, composition, and degree of order on the materials' functions and use, as well as trends in and future directions for the development of CBPM.

show abstract

Section: Control Over Structural Features In Colloidal Assembliesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A colloidoscope of colloid-based porous materials and their uses

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…[43][44] From a conceptual point of view, all these techniques can be divided into two main categories: direct assembly on a solid substrate and liquid interface-mediated processes. Even though quality, possibilities, and limitations strongly differ between the fabrication techniques, there are certain key differences between the two main categories that shall be briefly discussed before going into detail.…”

Section: Theory 21mentioning

confidence: 99%

Surface Patterning with Colloidal Monolayers

Vogel

2012

Springer Theses

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This thesis focuses on the controlled assembly of monodisperse polymer colloids into ordered two-dimensional arrangements. These assemblies, commonly referred to as colloidal monolayers, are subsequently used as masks for the generation of arrays of complex metal nanostructures on solid substrates.The motivation of the research presented here is twofold. First, monolayer crystallization methods were developed to simplify the assembly of colloids and to produce more complex arrangements of colloids in a precise way. Second, various approaches to colloidal lithography are designed with the aim to include novel features or functions to arrays of metal nanostructures.The air/water interface was exploited for the crystallization of colloidal monolayer architectures as it combines a two-dimensional confinement with a high lateral mobility of the colloids that is beneficial for the creation of high long range order. A direct assembly of colloids is presented that provides a cheap, fast and conceptually simple methodology for the preparation of ordered colloidal monolayers. The produced two-dimensional crystals can be transformed into nonclose-packed architectures by a plasma-induced size reduction step, thus providing valuable masks for more sophisticated lithographic processes. Finally, the controlled co-assembly of binary colloidal crystals with defined stoichiometries on a Langmuir trough is introduced and characterized with respect to accessible configurations and size ratios.Several approaches to lithography are presented that aim at introducing different features to colloidal lithography. First, using metal-complex containing latex particles, the synthesis of which is described as well, symmetric arrays of metal nanoparticles can be created by controlled combustion of the organic material of the colloids. The process does not feature an inherent limit in nanoparticle size and is able to produce complex materials as will be demonstrated for FePt alloy particles. Precise control over both size and spacing of the particle array is presented.Second, two lithographic processes are introduced to create sophisticated nanoparticle dimer units consisting of two crescent shaped nanostructures in close proximity; essentially by using a single colloid as mask to generate two structures simultaneously. Strong coupling processes of the parental plasmon resonances of the two objects are observed that are accompanied by high near-field enhancements. A plasmon hybridization model is elaborated to explain all polarization dependent shifts of the resonance positions. Last, a technique to produce laterally patterned, ultra-flat substrates without surface topographies by embedding gold nanoparticles in a silicon dioxide matrix is applied to construct robust and re-usable sensing architectures and to introduce an approach for the nanoscale patterning of solid supported lipid bilayer membranes.

show abstract

“…Because the self-assembly of these particles is largely controlled by their geometry, only a few relatively simple crystals have been made: face-centered and body-centered cubic crystals and variants 9 . Colloidal alloys increase the diversity of structures [10][11][12] , but many structures remain difficult or impossible to make.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Colloids with valence and specific directional bonding

Wang

Breed

et al. 2012

Nature

949

1,059

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The ability to design and assemble 3-dimensional structures from colloidal particles is limited by the absence of specific directional bonds. As a result, complex or low-coordination structures, common in atomic and molecular systems, are rare in the colloidal domain. Here we demonstrate a general method for creating the colloidal analogues of atoms with valence: colloidal particles with chemically functionalized patches that can form highly directional bonds.These "colloidal atoms" possess all the common symmetries-and some uncommon ones-characteristic of hybridized atomic orbitals, including sp, sp 2 , sp 3 , sp 3 d, sp 3 d 2 , and sp 3 d 3 . Functionalizing the patches with DNA with single-stranded sticky ends makes the interactions between patches on different particles programmable, specific, and reversible, thus facilitating the self-assembly of particles into "colloidal molecules," including "molecules" with triangular, tetrahedral, and other bonding symmetries. Because colloidal dynamics are slow, the kinetics of molecule formation can be followed directly by optical microscopy. These new colloidal atoms should enable the assembly of a rich variety of new micro-structured materials. 2 IntroductionThe past decade has seen an explosion in the kinds of colloidal particles that can be synthesized 1,2 , with many new shapes, such as cubes 3 , clusters of spheres 4-6 and dimpled particles 7,8 reported. Because the self-assembly of these particles is largely controlled by their geometry, only a few relatively simple crystals have been made: face-centered and body-centered cubic crystals and variants 9 . Colloidal alloys increase the diversity of structures [10][11][12] , but many structures remain difficult or impossible to make. For example, the diamond lattice, predicted more than 20 years ago to have a full 3-dimensional photonic band gap 13 , still cannot be made by colloidal self-assembly because it requires 4-fold coordination. Without directional bonds, such low-coordination states are unstable.

show abstract

Colloidal Assembly: The Road from Particles to Colloidal Molecules and Crystals

Cited by 680 publications

References 284 publications

A colloidoscope of colloid-based porous materials and their uses

A colloidoscope of colloid-based porous materials and their uses

Surface Patterning with Colloidal Monolayers

Colloids with valence and specific directional bonding

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About