Controlled self-assembly of colloidal particles into predetermined organization facilitates the bottom-up manufacture of artificial materials with designated hierarchies and synergistically integrated functionalities. This paper develops a general paradigm for controlled co-assembly of soft block copolymer micelles and simple hard nanoparticles through variable noncovalent interactions (hydrogen bonding and coordination interactions). The micelle corona binds with hard nanoparticles with a valence depending on their relative size and feeding ratio, enabling integration into multidimensional colloidal molecules and polymers. Secondary co-assembly creates complex hierarchical superstructures, processible on surfaces via alternating co-assembly from a substrate-immobilized micelle or grafting a colloidal oligomer onto a micellar anchor.

Yan Cui, Hongyan Zhu, Jiandong Cai, Huibin Qiu