Conventional synthesis of colloidal molecules (CMs) mainly depends on particle-based self-assembly of patchy building blocks. However, direct access to CMs by the self-assembly of isotropic colloidal subunits remains challenging. Here, we report the mass production of AB_n-type CMs by polymerization-induced particle-assembly (PIPA), using a linear ABC triblock terpolymer system. Starting from diblock copolymer spheres, the association of spheres takes place in situ during the polymerization of the third block. The third blocks aggregate into attractive domains, which connect spheres into CMs. The stability of CMs is ensured, as long as the conversions are limited to ca. 50%, and the pH is low. The valence of AB_n-type CMs (n = 2–6) is determined by the volume ratio of the polymer blocks. By tuning the volume ratio, 78.5% linear AB₂-type CMs are yielded. We demonstrate that polymerization-induced particle-assembly is successful for the scalable fabrication of AB_n-type CMs (50 g L⁻¹), and can be easily extended to vastly different triblock terpolymers, for a wide range of applications.

Solar-driven interfacial evaporation (SDIE) is an eco-friendly and sustainable technology for desalinating water. Hydrogel-based composite evaporators are effective in resisting salt, but often suffer from reduced shape stability and diminished water transport capability during dehydration and rehydration cycles, which undermines their long-term performance in photo-evaporators. Here, we developed a long-term stable MXene-carrageenan/polyacrylamide (MXene-CA/PAAm) hydrogel evaporator. This device integrates an MXene film for efficient photothermal conversion with a double-crosslinked, high-strength, deformation-resistant, self-healing hydrogel for water supply. A dehydration/rehydration cycling test was developed to evaluate the shape stability and water absorption capacity of hydrogel-based evaporators. The MXene-CA/PAAm hydrogel evaporator operated continuously for 360 hours without performance decrease, achieving an average evaporation rate of 1.78 kg m² h⁻¹ under 1 sun illumination. This study presents a novel approach to creating double-network hydrogel evaporators, enhancing stability and durability, and advancing desalination technology.

An effective method is presented for preparing high solid content azobenzene-containing triblock copolymer toroidal assemblies by liquid crystallization-assisted seeded dispersion polymerization. Vesicles are prepared via polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA), and used as seeds for further chain extension. By introducing smectic liquid crystalline (LC) ordering into the core-forming block, toroids are formed in situ during the polymerization. The morphological transformation from toroids to barrels is observed under ultraviolet irradiation due to the photo-isomerization of the azobenzene mesogens. This strategy expands the scope of tunable anisotropic morphologies for potential functional nanomaterials based on a LC copolymer by seeded dispersion polymerization.

Colloidal molecules (CMs) are colloidal clusters with molecule-like symmetry and architecture, generated from the self-assembly of nanoparticles with attractive patches. However, the large-scale preparation of patchy nanoparticles remains challenging. Here, we synthesize CH₄-like colloidal tetrahedra (CTs) in a scalable way by aqueous polymerization-induced particle self-assembly (PIPA), where isotropic diblock copolymer spheres are used as seeds. During PIPA, the newly formed third block aggregates into attractive patches, which bridge the isotropic spheres together to form CTs in situ, as a result of surface energy minimization. This approach surpasses previous reports in its scalability, high yield and versatility. For example, the purity of as-prepared CTs reaches 78.3% at a concentration of 100 g L⁻¹, which allows the 3D reconstruction of the tetrahedral structure by single particle electron microscopy analysis. The versatility of PIPA is illustrated by preparing CMs of tunable size, valency and various chemical structures. In addition, the architecture of the CMs can be manipulated after the PIPA process simply by the addition of ethanol, for example, the CTs can be transformed into ladder-like structures, paving a new avenue to access hierarchical nanoscale self-assemblies.

This work presents the effective preparation of monodisperse fluoro-nanoparticles by polymerization-induced self-assembly and the convenient formation of well-defined 2D/3D colloidal lattices via solvent evaporation-induced colloidal self-assembly.