New way to control self-assembly

from the it's-usually-the-pH dept.
Gina Miller writes "In A Nanobridge Too Far?, Chemistry.org reports on research by Hiroshi Matsui and Christina Holtman at Hunter College in fabricating nanotube bridges between microspheres by controlling pH during self-assembly. The authors do not yet understand how nanotubes form on the microspheres as a result of the pH change, but 'this demonstration shows potential that molecular self-assembly mechanisms may be switched from one shape to another by tuning pH to fabricate the composite structures.' Really cool graphic included in the article!"