Designing corrugated surfaces to guide colloidal self-assembly

Abstract

The self-assembly of colloidal particles enables the creation of structured materials with programmable functionalities; however, controlling interaction specificity and aggregate morphology in a reversible and scalable manner remains a major challenge. Here, we investigate the selective depletion-induced self-assembly of 3D-printed flat polygonal colloids, where nanoscale surface topography is engineered through precise modeling in two-photon polymerization. By designing anisotropic lateral surfaces, we direct specific interactions that govern aggregate morphology, yielding dimers, chains, zigzag, and honeycomb structures depending on the surface configuration. The specificity of interaction is tuned by varying the length scale of the topographic surfaces, the depletant concentration and the ionic strength of the solution, revealing a transition from selective to non-selective aggregation regimes. The relative placement of lateral interacting surfaces on the colloids enables assembly into aggregates spanning a broad range of sizes, while tuning the interaction strength selectively stabilizes distinct structural motifs. We demonstrate this interplay between geometric arrangement and interaction energy experimentally and corroborate through both theory and simulations for specifically hexagonal shaped colloids. This study establishes a versatile framework for programming colloidal interactions via micro-architectural design, offering new routes for fabricating reconfigurable and functional soft materials.

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BibTeX RIS

BibTeX

@misc{sahu2026designing,
  title = {{Designing corrugated surfaces to guide colloidal self-assembly}},
  author = {Dinesh Kumar Sahu and Jude Ann Vishnu and Lisa Shafroth and Martin Lenz and Olivia Du Roure and Julien Heuvingh},
  howpublished = {HAL},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.04001},
  eprint = {2609.04001},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  url = {https://hal.science/hal-05779510v1},
  note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}

RIS

TY  - UNPB
TI  - Designing corrugated surfaces to guide colloidal self-assembly
AU  - Dinesh Kumar Sahu
AU  - Jude Ann Vishnu
AU  - Lisa Shafroth
AU  - Martin Lenz
AU  - Olivia Du Roure
AU  - Julien Heuvingh
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/03
PB  - HAL
DO  - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.04001
UR  - https://hal.science/hal-05779510v1
AB  - The self-assembly of colloidal particles enables the creation of structured materials with programmable functionalities; however, controlling interaction specificity and aggregate morphology in a reversible and scalable manner remains a major challenge. Here, we investigate the selective depletion-induced self-assembly of 3D-printed flat polygonal colloids, where nanoscale surface topography is engineered through precise modeling in two-photon polymerization. By designing anisotropic lateral surfaces, we direct specific interactions that govern aggregate morphology, yielding dimers, chains, zigzag, and honeycomb structures depending on the surface configuration. The specificity of interaction is tuned by varying the length scale of the topographic surfaces, the depletant concentration and the ionic strength of the solution, revealing a transition from selective to non-selective aggregation regimes. The relative placement of lateral interacting surfaces on the colloids enables assembly into aggregates spanning a broad range of sizes, while tuning the interaction strength selectively stabilizes distinct structural motifs. We demonstrate this interplay between geometric arrangement and interaction energy experimentally and corroborate through both theory and simulations for specifically hexagonal shaped colloids. This study establishes a versatile framework for programming colloidal interactions via micro-architectural design, offering new routes for fabricating reconfigurable and functional soft materials.
ER  -

Abstract

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