Optical control and dynamic patterning of zeolites

“Zeolite crystals have a wide use as model systems for artificial light harvesting systems, as nano-containers for supramolecular organization or as building blocks for 1D and 2D assemblies of several crystals. In particular the assembly of zeolite L crystals with the aim to bridge the gap between the nano- and the macroscopic world has been a focus of research during the last years. However, almost all available approaches to order, assemble and pattern Zeolite L are restricted to large amounts of crystals. Although these approaches have proven to be powerful for many applications, but they have only limited control over positioning or orientation of single crystals and are lacking if patterns or structures are required which are composed of a few or up to a few hundred individual crystals. We demonstrate here that holographic optical tweezers are a powerful and versatile instrument to control zeolite L on the single crystal level. It is shown that full three-dimensional positioning, including rotational control, of any zeolite L crystal can be achieved. Finally, we demonstrate fully reversible, dynamic patterning of a multitude of individually controlled zeolite L crystals.”