(458c) Soft Polyhedral Colloids

Controled production of anisotropic, polyhedral, colloids is a key need in development of products and processes based on self-assembly for numerous applications. The faceting of the particles, and the regulated truncation of the facets, is a control variable in the particle-particle interactions that dictate order, disorder, and the final structures formed in suspensions. A common difficulty in controlling the production of such particles is the kinetics and polydispersity encountered during crystallization of solid particles. We show a flexible method for producing soft polyhedral colloids with a wide range of polyhedral shapes and variable degrees of truncation. The particles originate from an emulsion precursor that enables better control over size polydispersity and the soft nature of the particles provides flexible control over the growth rates that dictate specific shape formation.