Dynamic self-assembly of photo-switchable nanoparticles

Nanoparticles functionalized with photo-switchable ligands can be assembled into a broad range of structures by controlled light exposure. In particular, alternating light exposures provide the means to control formation of assemblies of various sizes and symmetries. Here, we use scaling arguments and Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations to study the evolution of reversible aggregates in a solution of periodically irradiated photo-switchable nanoparticles. Scaling estimates of the characteristic size and the mean separation of aggregates agree with the simulations. The transition probabilities in the Kinetic Monte Carlo scheme are derived from a renormalized master equation of the diffusion proc…