Restructuring a passive colloidal suspension using a rotationally driven particle.

The interaction between passive and active/driven particles has introduced a new way to control colloidal suspension properties from particle aggregation to crystallization. Here, we focus on the hydrodynamic interaction between a single rotational driven particle and a suspension of passive particles near the floor. Using experiments and Stokesian dynamics simulations that account for near-field lubrication, we demonstrate that the flow induced by the driven particle can induce long-ranged rearrangement in a passive suspension. We observe an accumulation of passive particles in front of the driven particle and a depletion of passive particles behind the driven particle. This restructuring generates a pattern that can span a range more than 10 times the driven particles radius. We further show that size scale of the pattern is only a function of the particles height above the floor.

Controlled Symmetry Breaking in Colloidal Crystal Engineering with DNA.

The programmed crystallization of particles into low-symmetry lattices represents a major synthetic challenge in the field of colloidal crystal engineering. Herein, we report an approach to realizing such structures that relies on a library of low-symmetry Au nanoparticles, with synthetically adjustable dimensions and tunable aspect ratios. When modified with DNA ligands and used as building blocks for colloidal crystal engineering, these structures enable one to expand the types of accessible lattices and to answer mechanistic questions about phase transitions that break crystal symmetry. Indeed, crystals formed from a library of elongated rhombic dodecahedra yield a rich phase space, including low-symmetry lattices (body-centered tetragonal and hexagonal planar). Molecular dynamics simulations corroborate and provide insight into the origin of these phase transitions. In particular, we identify an unexpected asymmetry in the DNA shell, distinct from both the particle and lattice symmetries, which enables directional, nonclose-packed interactions.

Detection of Multiconfigurational States of Hydrogen-Passivated Silicene Nanoclusters.

Utilizing density functional theory (DFT) and a complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) approach,we study the electronic properties of rectangular silicene nano clusters with hydrogen passivated edges denoted by H-SiNCs (nz,na), with nz and na representing the zigzag and armchair directions, respectively. The results show that in the nz direction, the H-SiNCs prefer to be in a singlet (S = 0) ground state for nz > na. However, a transition from a singlet (S = 0) to a triplet (S = 1) ground state is revealed for na > nz. Through the calculated Raman spectrum, the S = 0 and S = 1 ground states can be observed by the E2g (G) and A (D) Raman modes. Furthermore, H-SiNC clusters are shown to have HOMO-LUMO (HL) energy gaps, which decrease as a function of na and nz for S = 0 and S = 1 states. The H-SiNC with a S = 1 ground state can be potentially used for silicene-based spintronic devices.