LEGO Materials

Two papers in this issue report important developments in the field of inorganic nanomaterials. Chen and O'Brien discuss self-assembly of semiconductor nanocrystals into binary nanoparticle superlattices (BNSLs). They show that simple geometrical principles based on maximizing the packing density can determine BNSL symmetry in the absence of cohesive electrostatic interactions. This finding highlights the role of entropy as the driving force for ordering nanoparticles. The other paper, by Weller and co-workers, addresses an important problem related to device integration of nanoparticle assemblies. They employ the Langmuir-Blodgett technique to prepare long-range ordered monolayers of close-packed nanocrystals and transfer them to different substrates.