Electroformation of Janus and patchy capsules

Janus and patchy particles have designed heterogeneous surfaces that consist of two or several patches with different materials properties. These particles are emerging as building blocks for a new class of soft matter and functional materials. Here we introduce a route for forming heterogeneous capsules by producing highly ordered jammed colloidal shells of various shapes with domains of controlled size and composition. These structures combine the functionalities offered by Janus or patchy particles, and those given by permeable shells such as colloidosomes. The simple assembly route involves the synergetic action of electro-hydrodynamic flow and electro-coalescence. We demonstrate that the method is robust and straightforwardly extendable to production of multi-patchy capsules. This forms a starting point for producing patchy colloidosomes with domains of anisotropic chemical surface properties, permeability or mixed liquid–solid phase domains, which could be exploited to produce functional emulsions, light and hollow supra-colloidosome structures, or scaffolds. Colloidal self-assembly at liquid interfaces has important emulsion applications, for food, household or personal care products, and drug encapsulation. Here, the authors develop a method of forming patchy heterogeneous capsules by electro-coalescence of multiple liquid drops.