Non-equilibrium anisotropic colloidal single crystal growth with DNA

Soyoung E. Seo, Martin Girard, Monica Olvera de la Cruz () and Chad A. Mirkin ()
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Soyoung E. Seo: Northwestern University
Martin Girard: Northwestern University
Monica Olvera de la Cruz: Northwestern University
Chad A. Mirkin: Northwestern University

Nature Communications, 2018, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Anisotropic colloidal crystals are materials with novel optical and electronic properties. However, experimental observations of colloidal single crystals have been limited to relatively isotropic habits. Here, we show DNA-mediated crystallization of two types of nanoparticles with different hydrodynamic radii that form highly anisotropic, hexagonal prism microcrystals with AB2 crystallographic symmetry. The DNA directs the nanoparticles to assemble into a non-equilibrium crystal shape that is enclosed by the highest surface energy facets (AB2(10 $$\overline 1$$ 1 ¯ 0) and AB2(0001)). Simulations and theoretical arguments show that this observation is a consequence of large energy barriers between different terminations of the AB2(10 $$\overline 1$$ 1 ¯ 0) facet, which results in a significant deceleration of the (10 $$\overline 1$$ 1 ¯ 0) facet growth rate. In addition to reporting a hexagonal colloidal crystal habit, this work introduces a potentially general plane multiplicity mechanism for growing non-equilibrium crystal shapes, an advance that will be useful for designing colloidal crystal habits with important applications in both optics and photocatalysis.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-06982-9

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