Electrostatic Self‐Assembly of Polystyrene Microspheres by Using Chemically Directed Contact Electrification

Stick with me: Electrostatic charges can be induced in functionalized polystyrene beads. Oppositely charged beads then aggregate to form superstructures. A coat of small beads can self-assemble around a large bead (see optical microscopy image). After annealing, another layer of beads can be added. The technique, based on contact electrification, avoids the use of expensive equipment and enables the use of large quantities of material.