Activity-Enhanced Self-Assembly of a Colloidal Kagome Lattice

Abstract

Here, we describe a method for the enhanced self-assembly of triblock Janus colloids targeted to form a kagome lattice. Using computer simulations, we demonstrate that the formation of this elusive structure can be significantly improved by self-propelling or activating the colloids along the axis connecting their hydrophobic hemispheres. The process by which metastable aggregates are destabilized and transformed into the favored kagome lattice is quite general, and we argue this active approach provides a systematic pathway to improving the self-assembly of a large number of colloidal structures.

14 pages, Supporting Information available via ACS Website. Journal of the American Chemical Society (2019)

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Cited by in corpus (11)

• Studying Rare Events using Forward-Flux Sampling: Recent Breakthroughs and Future Outlook
• Corner modes of the breathing kagome lattice: origin and robustness
• Universal reshaping of arrested colloidal gels via active doping
• Single-File Diffusion of Active Brownian Particles
• Orbits, spirals, and trapped states: Dynamics of a phoretic Janus particle in a radial concentration gradient
• Impact of non-reciprocal interactions on colloidal self-assembly with tunable anisotropy
• Designing active colloidal folders
• Effective medium model for a suspension of active swimmers
• Active doping controls the mode of failure in dense colloidal gels
• Discrete state model of a self-aggregating colloidal system with directional interactions
• Steering Active-Colloid Assembly by Biasing Dissipation