Anisotropic light-emitting colloidal kagome superlattices

A method of making colloidal kagome superlattices using programmable atom equivalents, the method comprising:

• preparing programmable atom equivalents, comprising:
• admixing a plurality of pentagonal nanoparticle seeds, one or more metal ions, and a surfactant,
• ageing the admixture to grow a plurality of surfactant stabilized metal nanoparticles each having a bipyramid shape with surfactant molecules weakly bounded to a surface thereof, wherein each of the pentagonal nanoparticle seeds comprise a metal or metal alloy,
• admixing the plurality of surfactant stabilized metal nanoparticles with a plurality of oligonucleotides, each comprising an anchor region and a linker region to thereby functionalize the plurality of surfactant stabilized metal nanoparticles with the plurality of oligonucleotides to thereby produce the programmable atom equivalents, wherein the anchor region of the oligonucleotide attaches to the surface of the metal nanoparticles, and the linker region comprises a self-complementary GCGC sticky end;
• and
• cooling the programmable atom equivalents to thereby induce crystallization of the programmable atom equivalents, wherein upon cooling adjacent ones of programmable atom equivalents are adapted to arrange in a desired crystalline structure through hybridization of sticky ends of oligonucleotides of one programmable atom equivalent with sticky ends of oligonucleotides of another programmable atom equivalent, the cooling comprising:
• cooling the programmable atom equivalents from a first temperature to a second temperature at a first cooling rate.
• cooling the programmable atom equivalents from the second temperature to a third temperature at a second cooling rate,
• cooling the programmable atom equivalents from the third temperature to a fourth temperature at a third cooling rate, wherein the first temperature is higher than the second temperature, the second temperature is higher than the third temperature, and the fourth temperature is about room temperature.