Multi-Chamber Dynamic Molecular Crystal Microcapsules for Payload Encapsulation and Controlled Release

Despite substantial advances in controlling crystal habit, organic single crystals with precisely engineered architectures, particularly those with fully enclosed internal cavities, remain exceptionally rare and challenging to fabricate. Here, we report a one-pot strategy that uses an optimized aqueous multisurfactant crystal growth approach to produce microcapsules with programmable numbers and sizes of sealed internal compartments.

A simple model captures the qualitative aspects of this phenomenon by positing diffusion-limited growth coupled with asymmetric surfactant inhibition. The microcapsule voids are contained within a single crystal domain, enabling encapsulation and long-term storage of diverse components, including water-soluble dyes, hydrogen peroxide, and nanoparticles, within separate chambers of a multichambered crystalline microcapsule.