Abstract
Bottom-up self-assembly of components, inspired by hierarchically self-regulating aggregation of small subunits observed in nature, provides a strategy for constructing two- or three-dimensional intriguing biomimetic materials via the spontaneous combination of discrete building blocks. Herein, we report the methods of ultrasonic wave energy-assisted, fast, two- and three-dimensional mesoscale well-ordered self-assembly of microfabricated building blocks (100 μm in size). Mechanical vibration energy-driven self-assembly of microplatelets at the water-air interface of inverted water droplets is demonstrated, and the real-time formation process of the patterned structure is dynamically explored. 40 kHz ultrasonic wave is transferred into microplatelets suspended in a water environment to drive the self-assembly of predesigned well-ordered structures. Two-dimensional self-assembly of microplatelets inside the water phase with a large patterned area is achieved. Stable three-dimensional multi-layered self-assembled structures are quickly formed at the air-water interface. These demonstrations aim to open distinctive and effective ways for new two-dimensional surface coating technology with autonomous organization strategy, and three-dimensional complex hierarchical architectures built by the bottom-up method and commonly found in nature (such as nacre, bone or enamel, etc.).
Highlights
Spontaneous organization of the building elements into well-ordered patterns or structures is of long standing and continuing interest for its aesthetic appeal, and for potential as a promising strategy to mimic the formation of useful and intriguing structures that exist in nature [1,2,3,4,5,6]
The shapes of hexagonal microplatelets were defined by using deep reactive-ion etching (DRIE) in an inductively coupled plasma etch system (STS Advanced Silicon Etcher)
In order to promote the self-assembly of mesoscale subunits into highly periodic, space filling two- and three-dimensional structures, we designed and microfabricated precise uniform hexagonal microplatelets with thickness of 30 μm and width of 100 μm
Summary
Spontaneous organization of the building elements into well-ordered patterns or structures is of long standing and continuing interest for its aesthetic appeal, and for potential as a promising strategy to mimic the formation of useful and intriguing structures that exist in nature [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Quick self-assembly of bio-inspired multi-dimensional well-ordered structures such as macromolecules or virus particles that are hard to realize by covalent synthesis [7,8,9,10]. In a typical self-assembling process, predesigned building blocks spontaneously organize themselves into a relatively stable structure through non-covalent interactions [11,12,13]
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