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DOE OSTI · 1424972

Communication: Programmable self-assembly of thin-shell mesostructures

Halverson, Jonathan D.·Tkachenko, Alexei V.
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Abstract

For this article, we study numerically the possibility of programmable self-assembly of various thin-shell architectures. They include clusters isomorphic to fullerenes C 20 and C 60 , finite and infinite sheets, tube-shaped and toroidal mesostructures. Our approach is based on the recently introduced directionally functionalized nanoparticle platform, for which we employ a hybrid technique of Brownian dynamics with stochastic bond formation. By combining a number of strategies, we were able to achieve a near-perfect yield of the desired structures with a reduced “alphabet” of building blocks. Among those strategies are the following: the use of bending rigidity of the interparticle bond as a control parameter, programming the morphology with a seed architecture, use of chirality-preserving symmetries for reduction of the particle alphabet, and the hierarchic approach.

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77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY

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Halverson, Jonathan D., Tkachenko, Alexei V.. 2017-10-13. Communication: Programmable self-assembly of thin-shell mesostructures. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4999654

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