Synthesis of rough colloidal SU-8 rods and bananas via nanoprecipitation

Journal article

Surface roughness plays an important role in determining the mechanical properties, wettability, and self-assembly in colloidal systems. In this work, we develop a simple and fast method to produce rough colloidal SU-8 rods, bananas, and spheres, via the nanoprecipitation of SU-8 in water. During this process, SU-8 nanospheres are absorbed onto the surface of the colloidal SU-8 particles and then cross-linked using UV-light. The size of the spherical asperities and the asperity density are controlled by the concentration of SU-8 used during the nanoprecipitation reaction. Fluorescent labeling of the rough SU-8 colloidal particles allows for their confocal imaging, which demonstrates their stability at high packing fractions. With these newly developed rough particles, we provide a colloidal model system that allows for studies addressing the impact of surface roughness on materials composed of anisotropic particles.

Authors: Fernández-Rico, C; Urbach, JS; Dullens, RPA

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: American Chemical Society
• Journal: Langmuir
• Volume: 37
• Issue: 9
• Pages: 2900-2906
• Publication date: 2021-02-26
• Acceptance date: 2021-01-28
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.0c03361
• EISSN: 1520-5827
• ISSN: 0743-7463
• Pmid: 33635671
• Language: English
• Keywords: FFR