Soft Alloys Constructed with Distinct Mesoatoms via Self-Sorting Assembly of Giant Shape Amphiphiles

The packing structures of spherical motifs affect the properties of resultant condensed materials such as in metal alloys. Inspired by the classic metallurgy, developing complex alloy-like packing phases in soft matter (also called "soft alloys") is promising for the next-generation superlattice engineering. Nevertheless, the formation of many alloy-like phases in single-component soft matter is usually thermodynamically unfavourable and technically challenging. Here, we utilize a novel self-sorting assembly approach to tackle this challenge in binary blends of soft matter. Two types of giant shape amphiphiles self-sort to form their discrete spherical motifs, which further simultaneously pack into alloy-like phases. Three unconventional spherical packing phases have been observed in these binary systems, including MgZn₂ , NaZn₁₃ , and CaCu₅ phases. It's the first time that the CaCu₅ phase is experimentally observed in soft matter. This work demonstrates a general approach to constructing unconventional spherical packing phases and other complex superlattices in soft matter.