Nature employs self-assembly to create beautiful structures like the patterns on butterfly wings, the super-adhesive feet of the gecko, and the water-shedding lotus leaf. Now, according to EurekAlert, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have devised a way to spur self-assembly much more easily and less expensively than previous techniques allowed.

Their method of "fossilized liquid assembly" is to dissolve nanoparticles in a solution of water containing a special monomer that freezes the particles into a hierarchical structure on exposure to ultraviolet light. This can be done in as little as five minutes, according to lead researcher and physicist Alamgir Karim.

The group envisions their technique enabling others to learn more about self-assembly and offering industry another step toward manufacturing at the molecular scale. (photo NIST)