Phys.org  August 19, 2024 Nanoparticle self-assembly offers a scalable and versatile means to fabricate next-generation materials. The prevalence of metastable and nonequilibrium states during the assembly process makes the final structure and function directly dependent upon formation pathways. A team of researchers in the US (Indiana University, University of Michigan) used liquid-cell transmission electron microscopy to image complete self-assembly processes of gold nanocubes, a model shape-anisotropic nanocolloidal system, into distinct superlattices. Theoretical analysis and molecular dynamics simulations indicated that the electrostatic screening of the medium dictated self-assembly pathways by its effects on the interactions between nanocubes. They leveraged this understanding […]