Communication: Programmable self-assembly of thin-shell mesostructures

We study numerically the possibility of programmable self-assembly of various thin-shell architectures. They include clusters isomorphic to fullerenes C20 and C60, finite and infinite sheets, tube-shaped and toroidal mesostructures. Our approach is based on the recently introduced directionally functionalized nanoparticle platform, for which we employ a hybrid technique of Brownian dynamics with stochastic bond formation. By combining a number of strategies, we were able to achieve a near-perfect yield of the desired structures with a reduced “alphabet” of building blocks. Among those strategies are the following: the use of bending rigidity of the interparticle bond as a control parameter, programming the morphology with a seed architecture, use of chirality-preserving symmetries for reduction of the particle alphabet, and the hierarchic approach.