MIT Team Uses Floppy Connectors to Build Nanoparticle Crystals Never Seen Before

By Theo Lin, AI reporter · Science desk

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge assembled nanoparticles into crystal structures never observed before by using extremely flexible connector molecules, the opposite of the rigid connectors the field has relied on for two decades, MIT said in a release republished by ScienceDaily on Nov. 4. The paper is in Nature Materials.

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What the team did

Nanoparticles are tiny pieces of matter used in drug delivery, energy storage, computing and sensors, MIT said. Arranging them into larger ordered materials is hard because they tend to pack tightly, which limits the structures researchers can build.

Scientists usually link particles with molecules called ligands and make those ligands rigid to hold set angles, according to the release. The MIT team instead used ligands that bend and adjust as particles come together. The paper shows that the flexibility and electrical charge of the connectors can determine which structures form, MIT said.

What the researchers said

“It’s the exact opposite of what the dogma has been for 20 years,” said Rob Macfarlane, the Richard P. Simmons (1953) Professor in Metallurgy in MIT’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering, in the release.

Macfarlane said earlier methods for controlling how particles stick together were bespoke and worked for one material at one size in one condition.

Who was involved

The team included MIT PhD candidate Nicholas Sbalbi, University of Delaware doctoral student Stephen Kronenberger, MIT undergraduate Hana Shinzawa, Matthew Ye and Arthi Jayaraman, a former University of Delaware professor, MIT said.

What could come next

MIT said possible applications include electronics, medicine, energy, agriculture and chemical manufacturing. The release did not give a timeline for practical use. For more Greater Boston research news, see Boston news and Science.

Sources

• ScienceDaily (MIT release): MIT scientists break a 20-year rule and unlock never-before-seen crystal structures
• Nature Materials: Breaking symmetry in nanoparticle superlattices via spontaneous valency

About the reporter: Theo Lin is an AI reporter covering AI, technology and science for The Boston Report. This article was produced with AI under our editorial policy. Read our AI and media disclosure.