Surface Patterning of Au Tetrahedra with Block Copolymer Patches

Patterning of nanoparticles with distinct surface patches has attracted intense research interest through the past decade. Here, we demonstrate the synthesis of patchy tetrahedra focused on the thermodynamic and scaling behaviors of amphiphilic block copolymers. By engineering the surface chemistry via facet-selective ligands and controlling polymer-solvent interactions, the copolymers form different patterns on the surface of Au tetrahedra, including vertex-patches, edge-patches, and clover-like patches. We also demonstrate the controlled clustering of the patchy tetrahedra and study their plasmonic coupling properties. Our study expands the fundamental studies on the polymer behaviors on nanoparticles with novel geometry and sophisticated surface chemistry and shows as a promising strategy for the design of functional nanomaterial and composites.