Self-similar mesocrystals form via interface-driven nucleation and assembly

Abstract

Crystallization by particle attachment (CPA) is a frequently occurring mechanism of colloidal crystallization that results in hierarchical morphologies^1,2,3,4. CPA has been exploited to create nanomaterials with unusual properties^4,5,6 and is implicated in the development of complex mineral textures^1,7. Oriented attachment^7,8—a form of CPA in which particles align along specific crystallographic directions—produces mesocrystals that diffract as single crystals do, although the constituent particles are still discernible^2,9. The conventional view of CPA is that nucleation provides a supply of particles that aggregate via Brownian motion biased by attractive interparticle potentials^{1,9,<a data-track="click" data-track-action="reference...}