Related papers: Reconfigurable assembly of nematic colloids comman…
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…
Self-diffusiophoretic particles exploit local concentration gradients of a solute species in order to self-propel at the micron scale. While an isolated chemically- and geometrically-isotropic particle cannot swim, we show that it can…
Tremendous enhancement of light-matter interaction in plasmon-excited molecular hybrid devices allows for non-linearities on the level of single emitters and few photons. This promises a plethora of novel applications like single photon…
We introduce a novel all-optical platform in multimode and multicore fibres. By using a low-power probe beam and a high-power counter-propagating control beam, we achieve advanced and dynamic control over light propagation within the…
We design a system with a binary suspension of colloids and a surface that triggers the self-assembly of crystallites with a finite thickness. The proposed design allows controlling the number of layers forming the aggregate and constrains…
Rod-shaped colloids with attractive tips can form linear aggregates that may subsequently undergo hierarchical self-assembly into nematic fluids. Inspired by recent modelling efforts on chromonic liquid crystals, composed of discotic…
We propose a new driving scheme, when different parts of a system are driven with different, generally incommensurate, frequencies. Such driving provides a flexible handle to control various properties of the system and to obtain new types…
Self-limiting assembly of particles represents the state-of-the-art controllability in nanomanufacturing processes where the assembly stops at a designated stage1,2, providing a desirable platform for applications requiring delicate…
Polaritons in polar biaxial crystals with extreme anisotropy offer a promising route to manipulate nanoscale light-matter interactions. The dynamical modulation of their dispersion is great significance for future integrated nano-optics but…
We survey our research on modeling the mechanisms of control of uniformity in growth of nanosize and colloid particles. The former are produced as nanocrystals, by burst-nucleation from solution. The latter, colloid-size particles, are…
Controlled assembly of active-passive colloidal mixtures offers a route to reconfigurable microscale machines, but their self-assembly pathways remain poorly understood. We study the directed assembly of metallo-dielectric Janus particles…
Complex nonequilibrium self-assembly enables the formation of materials with specific patterns and functions from the bottom up. How to directionally control the assembly to form the target configuration is a challenge. Here, we propose a…
The fabrication of versatile building blocks that are reliably self-assemble into desired ordered and disordered phases is amongst the hottest topics in contemporary material science. To this end, microscopic units of varying complexity,…
A strongly confined light field necessarily exhibits a local polarization that varies on a subwavelength scale. We demonstrate that a single optical mode of such kind can be used to selectively and simultaneously manipulate atomic ensembles…
Active forces occurring within cells can drive crucial biological processes that involve spontaneous organization and shape change, such as cell division. Motivated by recent in vitro experiments of nematic droplets of cytoskeletal…
Colloidal self-assembly -- the spontaneous organization of colloids into ordered structures -- has been considered key to produce next-generation materials. However, the present-day staggering variety of colloidal building blocks and the…
We propose and demonstrate a method for the construction of highly uniform, multilayered, orientation-controlled superstructures of CdSe/CdZnS core/shell colloidal nanoplatelets (NPLs) using bi-phase liquid interface. These atomically-flat…
Realizing tunable functional materials with built-in nanoscale heat flow directionality represents a significant challenge that could advance thermal management strategies. Here we use spatiotemporally-resolved thermoreflectance to…
The transport of deformable particles through porous media underlies a wealth of applications ranging from filtration to oil recovery to the transport and spreading of biological agents. Using direct numerical simulations, we analyze the…
While most of the studies on molecular machines have been performed in solution, interfacing these supramolecular systems with solid-state nanostructures and materials is very important in view of their utilization in sensing components…