Self Assembly of Colloids

We are exploring the self assembly of colloidal matter using building blocks with complex shapes and functionalities. Our toolbox includes particles with tunable cavities and protrusions, particles with flexible ball-and-socket joints, colloidal cubes and particles with magnetic patches. Using these building blocks and a variety of interactions, including chemical, steric, magnetic and lock-and-key shape recognition, we aim to develop new assembly schemes to build structures with a reconfigurable structural arrangement.