Grafting linkers with open ends of complementary single-stranded DNA makes a flexible tool to tune interactions between colloids, which facilitates the design of complex self-assembly structures. Recently, it has been proposed to coat colloids with mobile DNA linkers, which alleviates kinetic barriers without high-density grafting, and also allows the design of valency without patches. However, the self-assembly mechanism of this novel system is poorly understood. Using a combination of theory and simulation, we obtain phase diagrams for the system in both two and three dimensional spaces, and find stable floppy square and CsCl crystals when the binding strength is strong, even in the infinite binding strength limit. We demonstrate that these floppy phases are stabilized by vibrational entropy, and “floppy” modes play an important role in stabilizing the floppy phases for the infinite binding strength limit. This special entropic effect in the self-assembly of mobile DNA-coated colloids is very different from conventional molecular self-assembly, and it offers a new axis to help design novel functional materials using mobile DNA-coated colloids.

• Received 4 September 2017
• Corrected 14 November 2018

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.048003