Activity-Enhanced Self-Assembly of Colloidal-based Materials: a New Perspective
Daphne Klotsa, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Lead PI)
David Pine, New York University (PI)
John Brady, California Institute of Technology (PI)

This project pioneers a new strategy, Activity-Enhanced Self-Assembly, to advance the design of colloidal materials into complex structures relevant to important technological applications.  Colloidal particles can form photonic, catalytic, and porous materials, yet assembling complex architectures such as diamond and clathrate lattices remains limited by kinetic barriers and defect formation. Our approach harnesses active matter, in which microscale self-propelled particles help address these limitations by accelerating crystallization, manipulating local structure, and enabling dynamic defect annealing. Recent findings show that active and passive colloids are inherently coupled through chemical gradients and diffusiophoretic flows, contradicting long-standing modeling assumptions. By incorporating and controlling this coupling we introduce new mechanisms for directing assembly at the mesoscale. The project integrates experiment, theory, and large-scale simulation to understand and exploit these interactions. The aim is to achieve faster, larger, and more defect-free colloidal crystals than traditional methods allow. The resulting capabilities will enable transformative pathways for designing energy-relevant materials and align directly with the goals of the DOE’s Biomolecular Materials Program.