Design and fabrication of diverse three-dimensional shell-like nano-structures

•Firstly, we propose a simple method to obtain diverse three-dimensional shell-like structures.•Secondly, the number of the shell-like structures, which can be fabricated through the proposed method, is very large.•Thirdly, all of these structures can be pre-designed and simulated through our established geometrical model.

The shell-like nano-structures (SLSs) own special ability to manipulate electromagnetic waves, and can be used as three-dimensional (3D) nano-antenna, highly efficient generator of second harmonic light, chiral metamaterials, and so on. However, to achieve this complicated geometry shape still remains challenging, which limits the related applications. In this paper, we propose a new method based on the microsphere self-assembly technology (MAT) to fabricate this type nano-structures, which is the use of basic SLSs (such as nano-cups or fragmented shells) as building blocks (BBs) to construct desired SLSs, just like that in architecture. Through establishing and using the related 3D geometric model, we design a great many of new SLSs, include some interesting structures, such as T-shape, ‘maple leaf’-shape, and boat-shape structures. In theory, the number is infinite. In experiment, some new SLSs have been achieved, and their geometrical morphologies agree well with the designed. These new SLSs will provide a foundation for the related researches and applications.

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