Diamond-lattice photonic crystals assembled from DNA origami

• DOI: 10.1126/science.adl2733
• Publication Date: 2024-05-16T17:59:46Z
• Authors: Gregor Posnjak; Xin Yin; Paul Butler; Oliver Bienek; Mihir Dass; Seungwoo Lee; Ian D. Sharp; Tim Liedl
• Keywords: Diamond cubic; DNA origami; Ultraviolet; Nanometre; Colloidal crystal; Lattice (music); Ultraviolet light; Refractive index contrast; Structural Coloration

Colloidal self-assembly allows rational design of structures on the micrometer and submicrometer scale. One architecture that can generate complete three-dimensional photonic bandgaps is diamond cubic lattice, which has remained difficult to realize at length scales comparable with wavelength visible or ultraviolet light. In this work, we demonstrate crystals self-assembled from DNA origami act as precisely programmable patchy colloids. Our DNA-based nanoscale tetrapods crystallize into a rod-connected lattice periodicity 170 nanometers. This structure serves scaffold for atomic-layer deposition high–refractive index materials such titanium dioxide, yielding tunable bandgap in near-ultraviolet.