title: Nanoparticle-controlled aggregation of colloidal tetrapods.
abstract: Tetrapods are among the most promising building blocks for nanoscale self-assembly, offering various desirable features. Whereas these particles can be fabricated with remarkable precision, comparatively less is known about their aggregation behavior. Employing a novel, powerful simulation method, we demonstrate that charged nanoparticles offer considerable control over the assembly of tip-functionalized tetrapods. Extending these findings to tetrapods confined to a gas/liquid interface, we show that regular structures can be achieved even without functionalization.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Sinkovits
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Luijten
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D003102:Colloids / Q000737:chemistry; D056004:Molecular Dynamics Simulation; D009010:Monte Carlo Method; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D010316:Particle Size; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D003102:Colloids