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oai:figshare.com:article/34030278 2026-09-30T06:21:37Z category_1 category_915 category_8 category_14 category_24 category_873 category_46 category_64 category_132 category_133 portal_63 item_type_6 month_year_09_2026

Nonequilibrium Navigation of a Rugged Energy Landscape Enables the Formation of Face-On Single-Domain Dodecagonal Quasicrystals Mayumi Egashira (23599588) Jing-Wei Chen (407620) Mao-Yan Wang (25142109) Chun-Jen Su (1563112) Yi-Qi Yeh (2656471) Wei-Tsung Chuang (1568464) Chien-Lung Wang (1902136) Biophysics Physical Sciences not elsewhere classified Microbiology Molecular Biology Evolutionary Biology Chemical Sciences not elsewhere classified Immunology Cancer Infectious Diseases Plant Biology uncontrolled kinetic trap range quasiperiodic order millimeter length scales deterministic pathway selection competing kinetic pathways mediated salt bridges driven a15 pathway nonequilibrium pathway creates functionalized dendritic assembly ddqc junction bifurcates mediated transformation ddqc junction a15 phase nonequilibrium σ nonequilibrium navigation σ phase transforming metastability thereby programming soft matter selectively suppress resolved small ray scattering programmable element preserving access powerful platform persistent 12 micellar cores macroscopically aligned lower temperatures introducing amine induced self important role higher temperatures fold symmetry findings demonstrate dominated route domain ddqc dodecagonal quasicrystal ddqc transition core engineering controlled regime component carboxyl bifurcation behavior angle x Metastable intermediates play an important role in directing structural evolution across complex energy landscapes. Here, we establish the dodecagonal quasicrystal (DDQC) as a tunable metastable kinetic junction in a single-component carboxyl-functionalized dendritic assembly. Time-resolved small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) reveals that this DDQC junction bifurcates into distinct Frank–Kasper (FK) phases through competing kinetic pathways: a deformation-dominated route to the A15 phase at lower temperatures or a mass-exchange-mediated transformation to the thermodynamically favored σ phase at higher temperatures. By introducing amine-mediated salt bridges to rigidify the micellar cores, we selectively suppress the deformation-driven A15 pathway while preserving access to the σ phase, thereby programming the bifurcation behavior of the DDQC junction. Leveraging this core engineering, a vapor-induced self-assembly (VISA) strategy was further developed to enable a nonequilibrium σ-to-DDQC transition. The high nucleation barrier inherent to this nonequilibrium pathway creates a nucleation-controlled regime that suppresses spontaneous polydomain formation, enabling the growth of macroscopically aligned, face-on single-domain DDQC with persistent 12-fold symmetry over millimeter length scales. These findings demonstrate that micellar core engineering provides a powerful platform for navigating rugged energy landscapes, transforming metastability from an uncontrolled kinetic trap into a programmable element for deterministic pathway selection and long-range quasiperiodic order in soft matter. 2026-09-30T00:00:00Z Text Journal contribution 10.1021/jacs.6c09814.s001 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Nonequilibrium_Navigation_of_a_Rugged_Energy_Landscape_Enables_the_Formation_of_Face-On_Single-Domain_Dodecagonal_Quasicrystals/34030278 CC BY-NC 4.0