One-Step Self-Assembly for Fabricating Asymmetric Particle Arrays and Templates for Bifunctional Systems

The assembly of microunits with different chemistries and morphologies into the arrays of a binary structure is of great interest in different fields such as bifunctional probes and bimodal triggered drug delivery. Although some binary structures have been designed, the fabrication of a non-close-packed structure with precise controllability of the subcomponent features remains a challenge. Herein, we report a one-step self-assembly approach for a highly ordered structure with anisotropic “ball-on-disk-shaped” silica microparticles inside the arrayed pores of a polystyrene film. Independent adjustments of the particle sizes and the pore sizes are carried out by varying the breath figure self-assembly process, free from the size-matching rule for a conventional “bead-in-pore” structure. The honeycomb structure not only provides free space but also demonstrates hydrophilic–hydrophobic wetting contrast favoring the accurate growth of additional components in each pore. The secondary subcomponents with differ...