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Nanomaterials may present interesting catalytic properties, but well-defined model systems are rare. Here, a Au–Pd core–shell catalyst is investigated for selective hydrogenation of butadiene, with shell-thickness-dependent catalytic activity, high selectivity and activity 50 times greater than that of alloyed counterparts.

Quasicrystals have a host of unusual physical properties. These intermediates between amorphous solids and regular crystalline materials can now be made to self-assemble from nanoparticles.

Researchers demonstrate an ultrastrong optical trap capable of operating with nanonewton optical forces by employing tailor-made high-refractive-index particles. This work could could lead to the development of highly efficient light-driven machines.

Different shapes of molecules or particles can exhibit various liquid crystal phases. The authors report on an experimental discovery of a so called splay-bend nematic liquid crystal phase in a colloidal system of bent silica rods.

Experiments with colloidal nano- and microparticles and computer simulations show that, unexpectedly, confinement and entropy are sufficient for the formation of icosahedral crystalline clusters of up to about 100,000 particles.

Metal oxide–zeolite bifunctional catalysts allow coupling of reactions and so enhance catalytic processes, but structure and reactivity control is difficult. Here, a general synthesis is presented for metal oxide–zeolite double-shelled hollow spheres, which outperform other catalysts for petroleum production.

3D real-space analysis of thick nanoparticle crystals is non-trivial. Here, the authors demonstrate the structural analysis of a bulk-like Laves phase by imaging an off-stoichiometric binary mixture of hard-sphere-like nanoparticles in spherical confinement by electron tomography, enabling defect analysis on the single-particle level.

Plastic crystals are an inversion of liquid crystals because they exhibit long-ranged positional order but short-ranged orientational order. Liu et al.show that charged rod-like colloidal particles can form plastic crystals, which are reversibly switched to full crystals under an electric field.

Nanoplatelets can be used as anisotropic building blocks for constructing novel optoelectronic materials. Here, Wang et al. show a route of assembling nanoplatelets with controllable positional and orientational order in three dimensions facilitated by the surface tension of drying emulsion droplets.

The authors investigate out-of-equilibrium crystallization of a binary mixture of sphere-like nanoparticles in small droplets. They observe the spontaneous formation of an icosahedral structure with stable MgCu₂ phases, which are promising for photonic applications.

Self-organization of soft-matter components can create complex and beautiful structures. But the intricate structures created by adding a second stage of organization could reveal more than just a pretty face.

Colloidal nanoparticles self-assembled under spherical confinement can form a rich variety of structures. Here, the authors study the self-assembly of sharp and rounded nanocubes under such confinement, revealing the influence of particle and face geometry on positional and orientational behavior.

Interactions that generate directed movement in response to a chemical stimulus occur in nature but have been difficult to realize in synthetic systems. Now, it has been shown that asymmetric micelle-mediated exchange of haloalkanes can be used to create tunable chasing interactions between chemically distinct microdroplets. Collective interactions lead to the formation of droplet assemblies with emergent self-organization and collective behaviours.

Van der Wee et al. establish a new colloidal crystal standard sample for the alignment and calibration of confocal and stimulated emission depletion microscopy. The sample is adjustable for different NA objectives and microscopy techniques and additionally can be used to measure point spread functions and evaluate refractive index mismatches as a function of depth quantitatively.