Qian Chen

TL;DR: This paper shows how colloidal spheres can be induced to self-assemble into a complex predetermined colloidal crystal—in this case a colloidal kagome lattice—through decoration of their surfaces with a simple pattern of hydrophobic domains, and encodes the target supracolloidal architecture.

TL;DR: Recent progress in both experiment and theory regarding synthesis and self-assembly of Janus particles is highlighted, and some areas of future opportunity are tentatively outlined.

TL;DR: This work studied the kinetic pathways of self-assembly of “Janus spheres” with hemispherical hydrophobic attraction and found key differences from those characteristic of molecular amphiphiles.

TL;DR: A method for determining three-dimensional (3D) structures of individual nanoparticles in solution is introduced that enables the analysis of heterogeneous populations of potentially unordered nanoparticles that are synthesized in solution, thereby providing a means to understand the structure and stability of defects at the nanoscale.

TL;DR: Understanding reaction trajectories provides important fundamental insight connecting high-energy nanocrystal morphologies to the development of kinetically stabilized surface features and demonstrates the importance of developing tools capable of probing short-lived nanoscale species at the single-particle level.