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Non‐Equilibrium Assembly of Light‐Activated Colloidal Mixtures
Author(s) -
Singh Dhruv P.,
Choudhury Udit,
Fischer Peer,
Mark Andrew G.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/adma.201701328
Subject(s) - microscale chemistry , active matter , colloid , materials science , crystallization , chemical physics , colloidal crystal , janus , nanotechnology , janus particles , soft matter , chemical engineering , chemistry , mathematics education , mathematics , engineering , biology , microbiology and biotechnology
The collective phenomena exhibited by artificial active matter systems present novel routes to fabricating out‐of‐equilibrium microscale assemblies. Here, the crystallization of passive silica colloids into well‐controlled 2D assemblies is shown, which is directed by a small number of self‐propelled active colloids. The active colloids are titania–silica Janus particles that are propelled when illuminated by UV light. The strength of the attractive interaction and thus the extent of the assembled clusters can be regulated by the light intensity. A remarkably small number of the active colloids is sufficient to induce the assembly of the dynamic crystals. The approach produces rationally designed colloidal clusters and crystals with controllable sizes, shapes, and symmetries. This multicomponent active matter system offers the possibility of obtaining structures and assemblies that cannot be found in equilibrium systems.