Work

Octo-diamond crystal of nanoscale tetrahedra with interchanging chiral motifs

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Despite their simplicity, tetrahedra can assemble into diverse high- and low-density structures. Here we report a low-density 'octo-diamond' structure formed by nanoscale solid tetrahedra with a 64-tetrahedron unit cell containing 8 cubic-diamond subcells. The formed crystal is achiral, but is composed of chiral bilayers with alternating handedness. The left- and right-handed chirality of the bilayers, combined with the plasmonic nature of the gold tetrahedra, produces chiroptical responses at the crystal surface. We uncover that the hydrophobic substrate facilitates the arrangement of tetrahedra into irregular ring-like patterns, creating a critical, uneven topography to stabilize the observed octo-diamond structure. This study reveals a potent way to affect colloidal crystallization through particle-substrate interactions, expanding the nanoparticle self-assembly toolbox.

Source: Nature Materials

DOI: 10.1038/s41563-025-02185-y

Authors: Fang Lu, Yugang Zhang, Tobias Dwyer, Aaron Michelson, Timothy C. Moore, Hanfei Yan, Kim Kisslinger, Honghu Zhang, Xiaobo Chen, Sharon C. Glotzer, Oleg Gang

Institutions: Brookhaven National Laboratory, Center for Functional Nanomaterials, University of Michigan, National Synchrotron Light Source II, Binghamton University, Yonsei University, Institute for Basic Science, Columbia University

Language: English

Topic: Photonic Crystals and Applications

Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $12,690

Funders: National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Division of Materials Research, Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure, Basic Energy Sciences, Army Research Office, Brookhaven National Laboratory

Awards: G1210759672, G1285306620, G1453181110, G1847291448, G1868695577, Track 4: Advanced CI Coordination Ecosystem: Monitoring and Measurement Services, G2222600376, G241279073, G2842318776, G2943742035, G3262563802, G3406661761, G3562386289, G357145406, G3850097093, Track 1: ACCESS Resource Allocations Marketplace and Platform Services (RAMPS), G4010157413, G4662383146, ACO: An Open CI Ecosystem to Advance Scientific Discovery (OpenCI), G4972998915, Track 3: COre National Ecosystem for CyberinfrasTructure (CONECT), G5212984984, G5367127336, G5417557083, G5464919783, G5633341255, G5765906131, G6121277264, G6733788163, Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), G6965541988, G6965887028, G7337182688, G7452299184, G7463374569, G7524144673, G8174472116, Track 2: Customized Multi-tier Assistance, Training, and Computational Help (MATCH) for End User ACCESS to CI, G872144517

OpenAlex ID: W4408770761

FWCI: 5.156

Cites: 45

Cited by: 14

Related to: 10