Tools for the quantification of the dynamic assembly of colloidal chains of ellipsoidal particles
Not Available
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
Engineering topics
Liu, Mingzhu
Publications and source records attributed to Liu, Mingzhu.
Two‐Dimensional (2D) or Quasi‐2D Superstructures from DNA‐Coated Colloidal Particles
Abstract This contribution describes the synthesis of colloidal di‐patch particles functionalized with DNA on the patches and their assembly into colloidal superstructures via cooperative depletion and DNA‐mediated interactions. The assembly into flower‐like Kagome, brick‐wall like monolayer, orthogonal packed single or double layers, wrinkled monolayer, and colloidal honeycomb superstructures can be controlled by tuning the particles’ patch sizes and assembly conditions. Based on these experimental results, we generate an empirical phase diagram. The principles revealed by the phase diagram provide guidance in the design of two‐dimensional (2D) materials with desired superstructures. Our strategy might be translatable to the assembly of three‐dimensional (3D) colloidal structures.
Liu, Mingzhu↗
Two‐Dimensional (2D) or Quasi‐2D Superstructures from DNA‐Coated Colloidal Particles
Abstract This contribution describes the synthesis of colloidal di‐patch particles functionalized with DNA on the patches and their assembly into colloidal superstructures via cooperative depletion and DNA‐mediated interactions. The assembly into flower‐like Kagome, brick‐wall like monolayer, orthogonal packed single or double layers, wrinkled monolayer, and colloidal honeycomb superstructures can be controlled by tuning the particles’ patch sizes and assembly conditions. Based on these experimental results, we generate an empirical phase diagram. The principles revealed by the phase diagram provide guidance in the design of two‐dimensional (2D) materials with desired superstructures. Our strategy might be translatable to the assembly of three‐dimensional (3D) colloidal structures.
Liu, Mingzhu↗
Quantifying patterns in optical micrographs of one- and two-dimensional ellipsoidal particle assemblies
Current developments in colloidal science include the assembly of anisotropic colloids with broad geometric diversity. As the complexity of particle assemblies increases, the need for ubiquitous algorithms that quantitatively analyze images of the assemblies to deliver key information such as quantification of crystal structures becomes more urgent. This contribution describes algorithms capable of image analysis for classifying colloidal structures based on abstracted interparticle relationship information and quantitatively analyzing the abundance of each structure in mixed pattern assemblies. The algorithm parameters can be adjusted, allowing for the algorithms to be adapted for different image analyses. Three different ellipsoidal particle assembly images are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithms: a one-dimensional (1D) particle chain assembly and two two-dimensional (2D) polymorphic crystals each consisting of assemblies of two distinct plane symmetry groups. Angle relationships between neighbouring particles are calculated and neighbour counts of each particle are determined. Combining these two parameters as rules for classification criteria allows for the labeling and quantification of each particle into a defined symmetry class within an assembly. The algorithms provide a labelled image comprising classification results and particle counts of each defined class. For multiple images or individual frames from a video, the script can be looped to achieve automatic processing. The yielded classification data allow for more in-depth image analysis of mixed pattern particle assemblies. Finally, we envision that these algorithms will have utility in quantitative analysis of images comprising ellipsoidal colloidal materials, nanoparticles, or biological matter.
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
Customized Chiral Colloids
This contribution describes a synthetic strategy for the fabrication of multicomponent colloidal “molecules” with controllable complex morphologies and compositionally distinct lobes. Using 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacry-late (TPM) as the building block, the methodology enables a scalable bulk synthesis of customized chiral colloidal particles with geometric and compositional chirality by sequential seeded growth method. Finally, the synthetic protocol presents a versatile platform for constructing colloidal molecules with multiple components having customized shapes and functionalities, with the potential to impact the design of chromatic patchy particles, colloidal swimmers and chiral optical materials, as well as informing programmable assembly.
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
Tunable assembly of hybrid colloids induced by regioselective depletion
Assembling colloidal particles using site-selective directional interactions into predetermined colloidal superlattices with desired properties is broadly sought-after, but challenging to achieve. Here in this paper, we exploit regioselective depletion interactions to engineer the directional bonding and assembly of non-spherical colloidal hybrid microparticles. We report that the crystallization of a binary colloidal mixture can be regulated by tuning the depletion conditions. Subsequently, we fabricate triblock biphasic colloids with controlled aspect ratios to achieve regioselective bonding. Without any surface treatment, these biphasic colloids assemble into various colloidal superstructures and superlattices featuring optimized pole-to-pole or center-to-center interactions. Additionally, we observe polymorphic crystallization, quantify the abundancy of each form using algorithms we developed, and investigate the crystallization process in real time. We demonstrate selective control of attractive interactions between specific regions on an anisotropic colloid with no need of site-specific surface functionalization, leading to a general method for achieving colloidal structures with yet unforeseen arrangements and properties.
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗