DNA-mediated assembly provides the opportunity to chemically program the structure of nanoparticle-based materials with sub-nanometer precision. Such structural control has accelerated the discovery of new materials with previously unattainable functionalities such as reconfigurabilitiy and stimuli responsivity. While most nanoparticle based materials have utilized highly symmetric particles, the use of anisotropic building blocks, which provide directionality to the DNA bonds through their facets, enables enhanced structural complexity and can give rise to unexpected properties. Specifically, anisotropic colloidal crystals assembled from DNA-functionalized, low symmetry nanoparticles can modulate the phase or path of light due to differences in refractive indices along the different crystallographic axes. Such colloidal crystals are, therefore, potentially useful as optical elements in micro-optical systems. Towards the efficient discovery and design of materials with novel functions, a theory-driven platform has been developed to study the relationship between lattice symmetry and photonic stop band properties. Moreover, a template-based assembly strategy, which enables the precise and arbitrary arrangement of nanoparticle building blocks on surfaces, further expands the structural control of the DNA-mediated nanoparticle assembly platform. Studies on these systems will provide insight into structure-function relationships between structural parameters and optical responses, thus enabling the fabrication of hierarchical metamaterials with specific and tunable outputs.<br/>

Rational metamaterial design through colloidal crystal engineering

2019 Spring National Meeting

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