Reconfigurable multi-scale colloidal assembly on excluded volume patterns

The ability to create multi-scale, periodic colloidal assemblies with unique properties is important to emerging applications. Dynamically manipulating colloidal structures via tunable kT -scale attraction can provide the opportunity to create particle-based nano- and microstructured materials that...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific reports 2015-09, Vol.5 (1), p.13612-13612, Article 13612
Main Authors: Edwards, Tara D., Yang, Yuguang, Everett, W. Neil, Bevan, Michael A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
639/166/898
639/301/923/916
Humanities and Social Sciences
Hydrogels
Light microscopy
Microscopy
Monte Carlo simulation
multidisciplinary
Radiation
Science
Temperature
Temperature effects
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Summary:The ability to create multi-scale, periodic colloidal assemblies with unique properties is important to emerging applications. Dynamically manipulating colloidal structures via tunable kT -scale attraction can provide the opportunity to create particle-based nano- and microstructured materials that are reconfigurable. Here, we report a novel tactic to obtain reconfigurable, multi-scale, periodic colloidal assemblies by combining thermoresponsive depletant particles and patterned topographical features that, together, reversibly mediate local kT -scale depletion interactions. This method is demonstrated in optical microscopy experiments to produce colloidal microstructures that reconfigure between well-defined ordered structures and disordered fluid states as a function of temperature and pattern feature depth. These results are well described by Monte Carlo simulations using theoretical depletion potentials that include patterned excluded volume. Ultimately, the approach reported here can be extended to control the size, shape, orientation and microstructure of colloidal assemblies on multiple lengths scales and on arbitrary pre-defined pattern templates.
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/srep13612