Nanostructures get complex with electron equivalents

Nanoparticles of two different sizes break away from symmetrical designs. Complex crystals that mimic metals—including a structure for which there is no natural equivalent—can be achieved with a new approach to guiding nanoparticle self-assembly. Rather than just nanoparticles that serve as “atom equivalents,” the crystals produced and interpreted by Northwestern University, University of Michigan and Argonne National Laboratory rely on even smaller particles that simulate electrons.