Chen Xi, Liu Xianghong, Khan Mohd Yasir, Yan Zuyao, Cao Dezhou, Duan Shifang, Fu Lingshan, Wang Wei
College of Materials and Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, Sichuan 610059, China.
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, China.
Research (Wash D C). 2024 Jan 30;7:0490. doi: 10.34133/research.0490. eCollection 2024.
Colloidal molecules, ordered structures assembled from micro- and nanoparticles, serve as a valuable model for understanding the behavior of real molecules and for constructing materials with tunable properties. In this work, we introduce a universal strategy for assembling colloidal molecules consisting of a central active particle surrounded by several passive particles as ligands. During the assembly process, active particles attract the surrounding passive particles through phoresis and osmosis resulting from the chemical reactions on the surface of the active particles, while passive particles repel each other due to the electric polarization induced by an alternating current (AC) electric field. By carefully selecting particles of varying structures and sizes, we have assembled colloidal molecules of symmetric and asymmetric dimers, trimers, and multimers. Furthermore, the coordination number of these colloidal molecules can be regulated in real time and in situ by tuning the interaction forces between the constituent particles. Brownian dynamics simulations reproduced the formation of the colloidal molecules and validated that the self-assembly arises from chemically induced attraction and electrical dipolar repulsion. This strategy for reconfigurable colloidal assemblies poses the potential for designing adaptive micro-nanomachines.
由微米和纳米颗粒组装而成的有序结构的胶体分子，是理解真实分子行为和构建具有可调性质材料的宝贵模型。在这项工作中，我们介绍了一种组装胶体分子的通用策略，该策略涉及由几个作为配体的被动粒子围绕一个中心活性粒子组成的结构。在组装过程中，活性粒子通过活性粒子表面化学反应产生的电泳和渗透作用吸引周围的被动粒子，而被动粒子则由于交流（AC）电场诱导的电极化而相互排斥。通过仔细选择不同结构和尺寸的粒子，我们组装了对称和不对称二聚体、三聚体和多聚体的胶体分子。此外，通过调节组成粒子之间的相互作用力，可以实时原位调节这些胶体分子的配位数。布朗动力学模拟再现了胶体分子的形成，并验证了自组装是由化学诱导的吸引力和电偶极排斥力引起的。这种可重构胶体组装策略为设计自适应微纳米机器提供了潜力。
