Patchy Gold Tetrahedra Video

Visuals from Professor Qian Chen and co-first authors Dr. Xiaoying Lin and Chansong Kim, whose work published in Nature Synthesis is opening new doors for programmable nanomaterials.

The team discovered that tiny chamfered edges on gold nanoparticles — previously overlooked as imperfections — can serve as precise templates for polymer patterning, producing seven distinct surface designs on the same tetrahedral shape. The findings have exciting implications for medicine, catalysis and beyond.