研究人员利用DNA修饰的纳米晶体构件合成了10种新的胶体晶体，这些构件的形状和大小各不相同，旨在形成具有微米级尺寸的空间填充结构。这种新策略提供的见解和能力大大扩展了胶体晶体的可能范围，并为有兴趣设计超材料的研究人员提供了更多的工具包。
据了解，要生成具有相同形状的大多数离散多面体纳米结构的空间填充排列是不可能的。但是，如果选择了适当的单个构件（如立方体），或匹配了适当尺寸的多个形状（如八面体和四面体），随后强制它们配对相互作用，就有可能产生空间填充结构。利用灵活的分子配体（聚乙二醇修饰的DNA），可以有意改变多面体纳米粒子的形状，并利用其实现有利于空间镶嵌的几何形状。
附：英文原文
Title: Space-tiled colloidal crystals from DNA-forced shape-complementary polyhedra pairing
Author: Wenjie Zhou, Yuanwei Li, Kwanghwi Je, Thi Vo, Haixin Lin, Benjamin E. Partridge, Ziyin Huang, Sharon C. Glotzer, Chad A. Mirkin
Issue&Volume: 2024-01-19
Abstract: Generating space-filling arrangements of most discrete polyhedra nanostructures of the same shape is not possible. However, if the appropriate individual building blocks are selected (e.g., cubes), or multiple shapes of the appropriate dimensions are matched (e.g., octahedra and tetrahedra) and their pairing interactions are subsequently forced, space-filled architectures may be possible. With flexible molecular ligands (polyethylene glycol–modified DNA), the shape of a polyhedral nanoparticle can be deliberately altered and used to realize geometries that favor space tessellation. In this work, 10 new colloidal crystals were synthesized from DNA-modified nanocrystal building blocks that differed in shapes and sizes, designed to form space-filling architectures with micron-scale dimensions. The insights and capabilities provided by this new strategy substantially expand the scope of colloidal crystals possible and provide an expanded tool kit for researchers interested in designing metamaterials.
DOI: adj1021
Source: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adj1021