What Has Been Achieved: IRG1 has developed a computational framework for understanding how nanoparticles (NPs) assemble at the interface between two immiscible fluids. These complex systems harness the competition between interparticle interactions and particle-interface interactions.
Importance of the Achievement: The resulting computational models enable the fast and accurate prediction of NP behavior, including the discovery of never-before-observed structures such as the bilayer NP superlattices shown here.
How is the achievement related to the IRG, and how does it help it achieve its goals? These models were inspired by the polymer-grafted NP systems studied in IRG1 and is currently guiding the experimental and characterization efforts of IRG1 for fabricating planar colloidal superlattices with distinct collective plasmonic, magnetic, optical, and electronic properties.
