The new method of synthesizing crystals leads researchers to a brand new phase of metal, which may be useful for new technologies. Results were confirmed using the Advanced Photon Source. This research team used DNA to teach metal nanoparticles to assemble into new configurations. Researchers attached DNA molecules to the surfaces of nanoparticles of different sizes, and found that the smaller particles moved around the larger ones in the gaps between them, while still binding the particles together into a new material.,
“Using large and small nanoparticles, where the smaller ones move around like electrons in a crystal of metal atoms, is a whole new approach to building complex colloidal crystal structures,” Glotzer said.
By adjusting this DNA, scientists changed the parameters of the small electron-equivalent particles, and thereby changed the resulting crystals
https://statnano.com/news/70614/X-Rays-Help-Scientists-Uncover-New-Forms-of-Material-Using-Designer-DNA
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