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Self-assembly via nanoscale phase-separation offers an elegant route to fabricate nanocomposites with physical properties unattainable in single-component systems. One important class of nanocomposites are optical metamaterials which…
Since the 1920s, packing arguments have been used to rationalize crystal structures in systems ranging from atomic mixtures to colloidal crystals. Packing arguments have recently been applied to complex nanoparticle structures, where they…
The self-assembly of anisotropic building blocks into complex spatial architectures is an important design strategy in material science but the mechanisms by which the anisotropic interactions influence the early-stage growth and formation…
The optical properties of nanoparticle clusters vary with the spatial arrangement of the constituent particles, but also the overall orientation of the cluster with respect to the incident light. This is particularly important in the…
A grand challenge of nanoscience is to master the control of structure and properties in order to go beyond present day functionality. The creation of nanostructures via atom manipulation by means of a scanning probe represents one of the…
Intricate biomineralization processes in molluscs engineer hierarchical structures with meso-, nano-, and atomic architectures that give the final composite material exceptional mechanical strength and optical iridescence on the macroscale.…
Using Monte Carlo (MC) computer simulations we explore the self-assembly and ordering behavior of a hybrid, soft magnetic system consisting of small magnetic nano-spheres in a liquid-crystalline (LC) matrix. Inspired by recent experiments…
The combination of large thickness ($>3$ $\mu$m), large--area uniformity (75 mm diameter), high growth rate (up to 0.4 $\mu$m/min) in assemblies of complex--shaped nanowires on lithographically defined patterns has been achieved for the…
Recent advancements in the synthesis of anisotropic macromolecules and nanoparticles have spurred an immense interest in theoretical and computational studies of self-assembly. The cornerstone of such studies is the role of shape in…
Highly ordered nanocrystal (NC) assemblies, namely superlattices (SLs), have been investigated as novel building blocks of optical and optoelectronic devices due to their unique properties based on interactions among neighboring NCs. In…
Controlling the motion of nano and microscale objects in a fluid environment is a key factor in designing optimized tiny machines that perform mechanical tasks such as transport of drugs or genetic material in cells, fluid mixing to…
Understanding the relationship between colloidal building block shape and self-assembled material structure is important for the development of novel materials by self-assembly. In this regard, colloidal superballs are unique building…
Polymer-grafted nanoparticles are versatile building blocks that self-assemble into a rich diversity of mesostructures. Coarse-grained molecular simulations have commonly accompanied experiments by resolving structure formation pathways and…
Nanocrystalline materials exhibit properties that can differ substantially from those of their single crystal counterparts. As such, they provide ways to enhance and optimise their functionality for devices and applications. Here we report…
Quasi-crystals are aperiodic structures that present crystallographic properties which are not compatible with that of a single unit cell. Their revolutionary discovery in a metallic alloy, less than three decades ago, has required a full…
We study experimentally the impact of spherical nanoparticles on the orientational order parameters of a host nematic liquid crystal. We use spherical core-shell quantum dots that are surface functionalized to promote homeotropic anchoring…
Understanding how nanostructure and nanomechanics influence physical material properties on the micro- and macroscale is an essential goal in soft condensed matter research. Mechanisms governing fragmentation and chirality inversion of…
The nucleation and growth kinetics of highly ordered nanocrystal superlattices during the evaporation of nanocrystal colloidal droplets was elucidated by in situ time resolved small-angle x-ray scattering. We demonstrated for the first time…
Ordering nanoparticles into a desired super-structure is often crucial for their technological applications. We use molecular dynamics simulations to study the assembly of nanoparticles in a polymer brush randomly grafted to a planar…
One emerging approach for the fabrication of complex architectures on the nanoscale is to utilize particles customized to intrinsically self-assemble into a desired structure. Inverse methods of statistical mechanics have proven…