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Quantitative 3D Real-Space Analysis of Photonic Supraparticles.

Jesse Ian Bückmann¹, Leroy Daniël Hoitink¹, Ruizhi Yang¹

¹Soft Condensed Matter and Biophysics Group, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands.

Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)

|February 26, 2026

Summary

Researchers developed a new 3D microscopy technique to accurately analyze supraparticle (SP) structures, revealing insights into self-assembly and defect formation. This method overcomes limitations of scanning electron microscopy for studying these complex colloidal assemblies.

Keywords:

confocal microscopy real‐space self‐assembly supraparticles

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Area of Science:

Colloidal science
Materials science
Soft matter physics

Background:

Supraparticles (SPs) are assemblies of smaller particles with unique collective properties.
Self-assembly (SA) in spherical confinement can form SPs, including those with icosahedral symmetry, not found in bulk systems.
Previous experimental analysis of SP structures, particularly icosahedral ones, is limited, hindering statistically relevant conclusions.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop and apply an advanced 3D microscopy technique for detailed structural analysis of supraparticles.
To overcome the limitations of existing methods like scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for quantitative SP analysis.
To gain experimental insights into the self-assembly pathways and defect formation mechanisms in SPs.

Main Methods:

Utilized a combination of 3D confocal and stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy.
Employed well-index-matched fluorescent core-shell colloidal silica spheres (442-478 nm diameter, <1% polydispersity).
Applied unsupervised machine learning based on bond order parameters and local centrosymmetry deviations for structure classification.

Main Results:

Obtained full 3D real-space datasets of multiple SPs within hours.
Successfully classified SP structures, correcting misidentifications common with SEM.
Provided quantitative, real-space insights into SA pathways and defect formation, especially for icosahedral SPs.

Conclusions:

The new 3D microscopy approach enables accurate, statistically relevant analysis of SP structures.
This technique offers a significant advancement over SEM for understanding SP formation and properties.
The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of self-assembly processes and defect dynamics in colloidal systems.