Prof. Nicholas Kotov’s visionary work has demonstrated how complex architectures at the nanoscale give rise to emergent properties – redefining our understanding of self-assembly, material hierarchy, and functional design. Embracing this spirit of structured complexity, we present a new class of core-shell structures capable of site-specific functional deployment within soft matter environments. By combining organic ligands with inorganic corrugations, we engineer nanoscale assemblies whose spatial distribution within emulsion-derived colloidal structures can be finely tuned. Through the use of surface camouflage – both soft and rigid – we modulate phase partitioning to direct colloids into selected domains of complex fluids. The meticulously crafted surface structures endow the colloids with adaptive features, enabling controlled dispersion, migration, and assembly. This strategy accommodates nanostructures of diverse shapes, sizes, and compositions, facilitating the co-localization of multiple functions within a single entity. This work establishes a platform of architected colloids with programmable functions, echoing Prof. Kotov’s foundational contributions to the scalable self-assembly of anisotropic nanoparticles and multifunctional nanocomposites.
