A Chemical Synthetic Route towards “Colloidal Molecules”

Abstract

Sowing the seeds: Binary colloidal particles of controlled morphology, including line segments, triangles, tetrahedra, octahedra, and square antiprisms (see picture) were obtained by an emulsion polymerization of styrene in the presence of silica seeds. These morphologies result from the minimization of an energy term that is the sum of two forces—an attraction towards the center and two-body particle repulsions that balance the attractive force.