(505e) Symmetry-Breaking in Patch Formation on Gold Nanoprism Via Supramolecular “Bandwagoning”

Synthesizing patchy particles with predictive control over patch size, shape, placement and number is a holy grail of nanoparticle assembly research. Here, using gold triangular nanoprisms and polystyrene-b-polyacrylic acid as a model system, we show that polymers can be designed to selectively adsorb onto nanoparticle surfaces that are coated by preceding polymers, driving the formation of patchy nanoparticles with broken symmetry. We rationalize the underlying assembly mechanism by using scaling theories that accurately predict our experimental observations at all levels – from particle-level patch pattern, nanoscopic size and shape of patches, to the self-limited assemblies. Our work provides a novel approach to leverage polymer interaction with nanoscale curved surfaces to drive asymmetric grafting in functional nanomaterials.