Patches on the surfaces of colloidal particles provide directional information that enables the self-assembly of the particles into higher-order structures. Although computational tools can make quantitative predictions and can generate design rules that link the patch motif of a particle to its internal microstructure and to the emergent properties of the self-assembled materials, the experimental realization of model systems of particles with surface patches (or ‘patchy’ particles) remains a challenge. Synthetic patchy colloidal particles are often poor geometric approximations of the digital building blocks used in simulations and can only rarely be manufactured in sufficiently high yields to be routinely used as experimental model systems. Here we introduce a method, which we refer to as colloidal fusion, for fabricating functional patchy particles in a tunable and scalable manner. Using coordination dynamics and wetting forces, we engineer hybrid liquid–solid clusters that evolve into particles with a range of patchy surface morphologies on addition of a plasticizer. We are able to predict and control the evolutionary pathway by considering surface-energy minimization, leading to two main branches of product: first, spherical particles with liquid surface patches, capable of forming curable bonds with neighbouring particles to assemble robust supracolloidal structures; and second, particles with a faceted liquid compartment, which can be cured and purified to yield colloidal polyhedra. These findings outline a scalable strategy for the synthesis of patchy particles, first by designing their surface patterns by computer simulation, and then by recreating them in the laboratory with high fidelity.

中文翻译：

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由胶体融合制成的片状颗粒

胶体颗粒表面的斑块提供方向信息，使颗粒能够自组装成更高阶的结构。尽管计算工具可以进行定量预测，并且可以生成将粒子的补丁图案与其内部微观结构和自组装材料的突现特性联系起来的设计规则，但具有表面补丁的粒子模型系统的实验实现（或“不完整的颗粒）仍然是一个挑战。合成的片状胶体粒子通常是模拟中使用的数字构建块的几何近似值很差，并且很少能以足够高的产量制造以常规用作实验模型系统。这里我们介绍一种方法，我们称之为胶体融合，用于以可调和可扩展的方式制造功能性斑块粒子。使用协调动力学和润湿力，我们设计了混合液体-固体簇，在添加增塑剂后，这些簇会演变成具有一系列不规则表面形态的颗粒。我们能够通过考虑表面能最小化来预测和控制进化途径，导致产品的两个主要分支：首先，具有液体表面斑块的球形颗粒，能够与相邻颗粒形成可固化的键以组装强大的超胶体结构；其次，具有多面液体隔室的颗粒，可以将其固化和纯化以产生胶体多面体。这些发现概述了合成斑片​​粒子的可扩展策略，首先通过计算机模拟设计它们的表面图案，