| abstract |
DNA-coated colloids are introduced that can rearrange and anneal using single-stranded DNA coatings with thicknesses that are smaller than the colloidal particles, and with areal densities 5—than previously achieved. Micrometer-sized colloidal particles, such as poly(styrene), poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA), silica and titania, and 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate (TPM), are coated with DNA by strain-promoted alkyne-azide cycloaddition. This enables growth of large colloidal crystals from a wide range of micrometer-sized DNA-coated colloids. When quenched from above to below the melting temperature, the rate of crystal formation exhibits the familiar maximum for intermediate temperature quenches observed in metallic alloys, but over a temperature range smaller by two orders of magnitude, owing to the highly temperature-sensitive diffusion between aggregated DNA-coated colloids. |