A new spin on nature

Taking inspiration from nature, scientists from South Korea have developed a new technique for assembling particles into tubular-shaped structures

Scientists have exploited the properties of rotating fluids to build structures that could be used for applications in photonics.

Many of the structures found in nature, such as strands of DNA and leaves spiralling around a plant’s stem, are created by the self-assembly of small components arranged in specific patterns around a cylindrical framework. Recreating these structures in the laboratory, however, has proved challenging.

Now, a team of scientists from the Institute for Basic Science in South Korea has developed a new technique that uses the centripetal force of a rotating fluid to create tubular structures from particles.

By rotating a fluid containing suspended particles, the researchers found that the fluid moves to the sides of the cylinder, while the lighter particles go towards the centre and arrange into tubular-shaped crystals that could be used in photonic devices.

This article was first published by Springer Nature. Read the original article at https://www.natureindex.com/article/10.1002/adma.201704274.

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