Optical tweezers assembly line for the micro-assembly of functional zeolite nanocontainer structures

Zeolite L is a microporous crystalline material featuring high number of strictly aligned one-dimensional nano-channels across the whole crystal axis. These porous silicate are highly interesting as building blocks because, by entrapping different guest molecules within their nano-pores, they can bridge the gap between the molecular and the microscopic world [1]. In particular, if loaded with organic dyes, the confinement exerted by the pore dimensions can enhance some of the emissive properties of the molecular guest. In order to achieve specific photonic functionalities, these building blocks can be arranged and assembled in specific configurations.