Fig. 5: Large-scale self-assembly of patchy NPs into open superlattices.

a–e, SEM images of large-scale assembly of face-patched rhombic dodecahedra on a glass tube (a,b) and silicon wafer (c–e), taken at tilted (a–c) and top (d,e) views (Methods). Inset in e, schematic of NP and fast Fourier transform (FFT) of the assembled lattice. f, 3D schematics of the lattice motif in e, with the nearest neighbours (blue) and next-nearest neighbours (yellow). g, X-ray tomography reconstruction of the lattice. h, Potential of mean force calculations of the pairwise interactions of two face-patched rhombic dodecahedra in two different configurations (inset schematic) as a function of the interparticle distance d normalized by NP circumsphere diameter a. i,j, MC simulation snapshots of patchy rhombic dodecahedron assembly. Insets, FFT of the lattices. k, Directional interaction (conical shape) of the particle with the neighbours coloured the same as in e and f. l, Zoom-in view of j, with top-layer NPs highlighted for visualization. m,o,q, SEM images (left) and MD simulation (right) of face-patched cuboctahedra (m), vertex-patched octahedra (o) and face-patched cubes (q). Inset in m,o,q, NP schematic. n,p,r, Corresponding FFT from experiment (left) and MC simulation (middle) and zoomed-in view of simulation (right). Scale bars, 20 μm (a); 5 μm (b); 200 nm (c); 2 μm (d); 300 nm (e); 500 nm (m,o,q).