David Pine – New York University
Wednesday, August 2nd, 10:45AM EDT (Zoom meeting starts at 10:30 EDT)
Self-assembly of colloidal diamond: Prospects for 3D photonic band gaps and localization
The self-assembly of colloidal particles into the cubic diamond structure has been a longstanding goal because of its potential for making materials with a photonic band gap. These materials suppress the spontaneous emission of light and are valued for their applications as optical waveguides, filters, laser resonators, for improving light-harvesting technologies, and for other applications. This talk will describe a method for making colloidal particles that self-assemble into cubic colloidal diamond. The particles consist of partially compressed tetrahedral clusters with retracted sticky patches. They self-assemble via patch-patch adhesion in coordination with a steric interlock mechanism that selects the proper staggered bond conformation required for cubic diamond. The particle geometry suggests a natural means for varying the degree of disorder in the tetrahedrally coordinated particles, which could facilitate the strong localization of light.