Shaping the interaction behavior of mechanically linked colloids

When engineering materials on any length scale, building block shape (and organization) determines properties and function of bulk material. One common challenge in colloidal synthesis is optimizing particle geometry design for specific particle-to-particle interactions. Herein, we investigate the relation between shape and interaction behavior by engineering the morphology of hexapod-shaped colloidal particles. The arms of hexapods can be finely tuned to be straight or winding and display unique mechanical-linkage interactions attributed to particle geometry. Upon particle packing, the mechanical interaction is characterized as reversible or irreversible, on short timescale, and display interaction behaviors visible on the macroscopic scale.