Colloidal clathrate crystals self-assembled from hard polyhedral shapes in computer simulations are stabilized by entropy compartmentalization, whereby hosts and guests contribute unequally to the entropy. This creative solution to satisfying the laws of thermodynamics suggests new ways to make colloidal crystals with open cages and hierarchical host–guest structures.
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This is a summary of: Lee, S. et al. Entropy compartmentalization stabilizes open host–guest colloidal clathrates. Nat. Chem. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-023-01200-6 (2023).
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Route to complex colloidal crystals through entropy compartmentalization. Nat. Chem. 15, 901–902 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-023-01227-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-023-01227-9
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