Self-Assembly Dynamics of Reconfigurable Colloidal Molecules

ACS Nano, vol. 16, pp. 2471–2480

Abstract

High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Colloidal molecules are designed to mimic their molecular analogues through their anisotropic shape and interactions. However, current experimental realizations are missing the structural flexibility present in real molecules thereby restricting their use as model systems. We overcome this limitation by assembling reconfigurable colloidal molecules from silica particles functionalized with mobile DNA linkers in high yields. We achieve this by steering the self-assembly pathway toward the formation of finite-sized clusters by employing high number ratios of particles functionalized with complementary DNA strands. The size ratio of the two species of particles provides control over the overall cluster size, i.e., the number of bound particles N, as well as the degree of reconfigurability. The bond flexibility provided by the mobile linkers allows the successful assembly of colloidal clusters with the geometrically expected maximum number of bound particles and shape. We quantitatively examine the self-assembly dynamics of these flexible colloidal molecules by a combination of experiments, agent-based simulations, and an analytical model. Our “flexible colloidal molecules” are exciting building blocks for investigating and exploiting the self-assembly of complex hierarchical structures, photonic crystals, and colloidal metamaterials.

Authors 6

1. Indrani Chakraborty Aachen Soft Matter Physics Huygens-Kamerlingh Onnes Laboratory Leiden Institute of Physics (LION)

   Leiden University · Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani - Goa Campus · Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Physics, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani - K K Birla Goa Campus, Zuarinagar, Goa 403726, India

   Soft Matter Physics, Huygens-Kamerlingh Onnes Laboratory, Leiden Institute of Physics, PO Box 9504, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands

2. Daniel J. Pearce Aachen Institute Lorentz

   University of Geneva · Leiden University · Massachusetts Institute of Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Mathematics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 182 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States

   Department of Theoretical Physics, University of Geneva, Quai Ernest Ansermet 30, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland

   Institute-Lorentz, Universiteit Leiden, PO Box 9506, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands

3. Ruben W. Verweij Aachen Soft Matter Physics Huygens-Kamerlingh Onnes Laboratory Leiden Institute of Physics (LION)

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Soft Matter Physics, Huygens-Kamerlingh Onnes Laboratory, Leiden Institute of Physics, PO Box 9504, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands

4. Sabine C. Matysik Aachen Soft Matter Physics Huygens-Kamerlingh Onnes Laboratory Leiden Institute of Physics (LION)

   Leiden University · University of Cambridge

   Affiliation as printed

   Soft Matter Physics, Huygens-Kamerlingh Onnes Laboratory, Leiden Institute of Physics, PO Box 9504, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands

   Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom

5. Luca Giomi Aachen Institute Lorentz

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute-Lorentz, Universiteit Leiden, PO Box 9506, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands

6. Daniela J. Kraft corresponding Aachen Soft Matter Physics Huygens-Kamerlingh Onnes Laboratory Leiden Institute of Physics (LION)

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Soft Matter Physics, Huygens-Kamerlingh Onnes Laboratory, Leiden Institute of Physics, PO Box 9504, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands

   Leiden University