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Wang G, Nowakowski P, Farahmand Bafi N, Midtvedt B, Schmidt F, Callegari A, Verre R, Käll M, Dietrich S, Kondrat S, Volpe G. Nanoalignment by critical Casimir torques. Nat Commun 2024; 15:5086. [PMID: 38876993 PMCID: PMC11178905 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49220-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2024] [Accepted: 05/24/2024] [Indexed: 06/16/2024] Open
Abstract
The manipulation of microscopic objects requires precise and controllable forces and torques. Recent advances have led to the use of critical Casimir forces as a powerful tool, which can be finely tuned through the temperature of the environment and the chemical properties of the involved objects. For example, these forces have been used to self-organize ensembles of particles and to counteract stiction caused by Casimir-Liftshitz forces. However, until now, the potential of critical Casimir torques has been largely unexplored. Here, we demonstrate that critical Casimir torques can efficiently control the alignment of microscopic objects on nanopatterned substrates. We show experimentally and corroborate with theoretical calculations and Monte Carlo simulations that circular patterns on a substrate can stabilize the position and orientation of microscopic disks. By making the patterns elliptical, such microdisks can be subject to a torque which flips them upright while simultaneously allowing for more accurate control of the microdisk position. More complex patterns can selectively trap 2D-chiral particles and generate particle motion similar to non-equilibrium Brownian ratchets. These findings provide new opportunities for nanotechnological applications requiring precise positioning and orientation of microscopic objects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gan Wang
- Department of Physics, University of Gothenburg, SE-41296, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Piotr Nowakowski
- Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Heisenbergstraße 3, D-70569, Stuttgart, Germany
- IV th Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 57, D-70569, Stuttgart, Germany
- Group of Computational Life Sciences, Division of Physical Chemistry, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Bijenička cesta 54, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Nima Farahmand Bafi
- Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Heisenbergstraße 3, D-70569, Stuttgart, Germany
- IV th Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 57, D-70569, Stuttgart, Germany
- Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, 01-224, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Benjamin Midtvedt
- Department of Physics, University of Gothenburg, SE-41296, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Falko Schmidt
- Nanophotonic Systems Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Process Enginnering, ETH Zürich, CH-8092, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Agnese Callegari
- Department of Physics, University of Gothenburg, SE-41296, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Ruggero Verre
- Department of Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-41296, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Mikael Käll
- Department of Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-41296, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - S Dietrich
- Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Heisenbergstraße 3, D-70569, Stuttgart, Germany
- IV th Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 57, D-70569, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Svyatoslav Kondrat
- Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Heisenbergstraße 3, D-70569, Stuttgart, Germany.
- IV th Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 57, D-70569, Stuttgart, Germany.
- Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, 01-224, Warsaw, Poland.
- Institute for Computational Physics, University of Stuttgart, Allmandring 3, D-70569, Stuttgart, Germany.
| | - Giovanni Volpe
- Department of Physics, University of Gothenburg, SE-41296, Gothenburg, Sweden.
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2
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Dantchev D. On Casimir and Helmholtz Fluctuation-Induced Forces in Micro- and Nano-Systems: Survey of Some Basic Results. ENTROPY (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 26:499. [PMID: 38920508 PMCID: PMC11202628 DOI: 10.3390/e26060499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2024] [Revised: 05/31/2024] [Accepted: 06/05/2024] [Indexed: 06/27/2024]
Abstract
Fluctuations are omnipresent; they exist in any matter, due either to its quantum nature or to its nonzero temperature. In the current review, we briefly cover the quantum electrodynamic Casimir (QED) force as well as the critical Casimir (CC) and Helmholtz (HF) forces. In the QED case, the medium is usually a vacuum and the massless excitations are photons, while in the CC and HF cases the medium is usually a critical or correlated fluid and the fluctuations of the order parameter are the cause of the force between the macroscopic or mesoscopic bodies immersed in it. We discuss the importance of the presented results for nanotechnology, especially for devising and assembling micro- or nano-scale systems. Several important problems for nanotechnology following from the currently available experimental findings are spelled out, and possible strategies for overcoming them are sketched. Regarding the example of HF, we explicitly demonstrate that when a given integral quantity characterizing the fluid is conserved, it has an essential influence on the behavior of the corresponding fluctuation-induced force.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Dantchev
- Institute of Mechanics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Academic Georgy Bonchev St., Building 4, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria;
- Max-Planck-Institut für Intelligente Systeme, Heisenbergstrasse 3, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany
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3
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Swinkels PJM, Gong Z, Sacanna S, Noya EG, Schall P. Phases of surface-confined trivalent colloidal particles. SOFT MATTER 2023; 19:3414-3422. [PMID: 37060129 DOI: 10.1039/d2sm01237e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Patchy colloids promise the design and modelling of complex materials, but the realization of equilibrium patchy particle structures remains challenging. Here, we assemble pseudo-trivalent particles and elucidate their phase behaviour when confined to a plane. We observe the honeycomb phase, as well as more complex amorphous network and triangular phases. Structural analysis performed on the three condensed phases reveals their shared structural motifs. Using a combined experimental and simulation approach, we elucidate the energetics of these phases and construct the phase diagram of this system, using order parameters to determine the phase coexistence lines. Our results reveal the rich phase behaviour that a relatively simple patchy particle system can display, and open the door to a larger joined simulation and experimental exploration of the full patchy-particle phase space.
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Affiliation(s)
- Piet J M Swinkels
- Institute of Physics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Zhe Gong
- Molecular Design Institute, Department of Chemistry, New York University, USA
| | - Stefano Sacanna
- Molecular Design Institute, Department of Chemistry, New York University, USA
| | - Eva G Noya
- Instituto de Química-Física Rocasolano, CSIC, Madrid, Spain
| | - Peter Schall
- Institute of Physics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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4
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Liu B, Li W, Duguet E, Ravaine S. Linear Assembly of Two-Patch Silica Nanoparticles and Control of Chain Length by Coassembly with Colloidal Chain Stoppers. ACS Macro Lett 2022; 11:156-160. [PMID: 35574797 DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.1c00699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
The self-assembly of patchy nanosized building blocks is an efficient strategy for producing highly organized materials. Herein we report the chaining of divalent silica nanoparticles with polystyrene patches dispersed in tetrahydrofuran triggered by lowering the solvent quality. We study the influence of the patch-to-particle size ratio and show that the nature of the added nonsolvent, for example, ethanol, water, or salty water, and its volume fraction should be carefully adjusted. We demonstrate that colloidal assembly initially obeys the kinetic model of step-growth polymerization and that beyond a certain length, the chains have the possibility to cyclize. We also show that the length of the chains can be controlled by the addition of one-patch silica nanoparticles, which act as colloidal analogues of chain stoppers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bin Liu
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, CRPP, UMR 5031, F-33600 Pessac, France
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, Bordeaux INP, ICMCB, UMR 5026, F-33600 Pessac, France
| | - Weiya Li
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, CRPP, UMR 5031, F-33600 Pessac, France
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, Bordeaux INP, ICMCB, UMR 5026, F-33600 Pessac, France
| | - Etienne Duguet
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, Bordeaux INP, ICMCB, UMR 5026, F-33600 Pessac, France
| | - Serge Ravaine
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, CRPP, UMR 5031, F-33600 Pessac, France
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5
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Cai Z, Li Z, Ravaine S, He M, Song Y, Yin Y, Zheng H, Teng J, Zhang A. From colloidal particles to photonic crystals: advances in self-assembly and their emerging applications. Chem Soc Rev 2021; 50:5898-5951. [PMID: 34027954 DOI: 10.1039/d0cs00706d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 140] [Impact Index Per Article: 46.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Over the last three decades, photonic crystals (PhCs) have attracted intense interests thanks to their broad potential applications in optics and photonics. Generally, these structures can be fabricated via either "top-down" lithographic or "bottom-up" self-assembly approaches. The self-assembly approaches have attracted particular attention due to their low cost, simple fabrication processes, relative convenience of scaling up, and the ease of creating complex structures with nanometer precision. The self-assembled colloidal crystals (CCs), which are good candidates for PhCs, have offered unprecedented opportunities for photonics, optics, optoelectronics, sensing, energy harvesting, environmental remediation, pigments, and many other applications. The creation of high-quality CCs and their mass fabrication over large areas are the critical limiting factors for real-world applications. This paper reviews the state-of-the-art techniques in the self-assembly of colloidal particles for the fabrication of large-area high-quality CCs and CCs with unique symmetries. The first part of this review summarizes the types of defects commonly encountered in the fabrication process and their effects on the optical properties of the resultant CCs. Next, the mechanisms of the formation of cracks/defects are discussed, and a range of versatile fabrication methods to create large-area crack/defect-free two-dimensional and three-dimensional CCs are described. Meanwhile, we also shed light on both the advantages and limitations of these advanced approaches developed to fabricate high-quality CCs. The self-assembly routes and achievements in the fabrication of CCs with the ability to open a complete photonic bandgap, such as cubic diamond and pyrochlore structure CCs, are discussed as well. Then emerging applications of large-area high-quality CCs and unique photonic structures enabled by the advanced self-assembly methods are illustrated. At the end of this review, we outlook the future approaches in the fabrication of perfect CCs and highlight their novel real-world applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhongyu Cai
- Research Institute for Frontier Science, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Space and Environment, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China. and Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 4, 117576, Singapore and Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Zhiwei Li
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
| | - Serge Ravaine
- CNRS, Univ. Bordeaux, CRPP, UMR 5031, F-33600 Pessac, France
| | - Mingxin He
- Department of Physics, Center for Soft Matter Research, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Yanlin Song
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), Key Laboratory of Green Printing, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, P. R. China
| | - Yadong Yin
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
| | - Hanbin Zheng
- CNRS, Univ. Bordeaux, CRPP, UMR 5031, F-33600 Pessac, France
| | - Jinghua Teng
- Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (A*STAR), 2 Fusionopolis Way, Innovis, #08-03, Singapore 138634, Singapore.
| | - Ao Zhang
- Research Institute for Frontier Science, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Space and Environment, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China.
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6
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Liu M, Zheng X, Grebe V, He M, Pine DJ, Weck M. Two-Dimensional (2D) or Quasi-2D Superstructures from DNA-Coated Colloidal Particles. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2021; 60:5744-5748. [PMID: 33285024 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202014045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2020] [Revised: 12/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
This contribution describes the synthesis of colloidal di-patch particles functionalized with DNA on the patches and their assembly into colloidal superstructures via cooperative depletion and DNA-mediated interactions. The assembly into flower-like Kagome, brick-wall like monolayer, orthogonal packed single or double layers, wrinkled monolayer, and colloidal honeycomb superstructures can be controlled by tuning the particles' patch sizes and assembly conditions. Based on these experimental results, we generate an empirical phase diagram. The principles revealed by the phase diagram provide guidance in the design of two-dimensional (2D) materials with desired superstructures. Our strategy might be translatable to the assembly of three-dimensional (3D) colloidal structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingzhu Liu
- Molecular Design Institute, Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA
| | - Xiaolong Zheng
- Molecular Design Institute, Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA
| | - Veronica Grebe
- Molecular Design Institute, Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA
| | - Mingxin He
- Department of Physics, Center for Soft Matter Research, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA.,Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Tandon School of Engineering, New York University, Brooklyn, NY, 11201, USA
| | - David J Pine
- Department of Physics, Center for Soft Matter Research, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA.,Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Tandon School of Engineering, New York University, Brooklyn, NY, 11201, USA
| | - Marcus Weck
- Molecular Design Institute, Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA
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7
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Liu M, Zheng X, Grebe V, He M, Pine DJ, Weck M. Two‐Dimensional (2D) or Quasi‐2D Superstructures from DNA‐Coated Colloidal Particles. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.202014045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mingzhu Liu
- Molecular Design Institute Department of Chemistry New York University New York NY 10003 USA
| | - Xiaolong Zheng
- Molecular Design Institute Department of Chemistry New York University New York NY 10003 USA
| | - Veronica Grebe
- Molecular Design Institute Department of Chemistry New York University New York NY 10003 USA
| | - Mingxin He
- Department of Physics Center for Soft Matter Research New York University New York NY 10003 USA
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering Tandon School of Engineering New York University Brooklyn NY 11201 USA
| | - David J. Pine
- Department of Physics Center for Soft Matter Research New York University New York NY 10003 USA
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering Tandon School of Engineering New York University Brooklyn NY 11201 USA
| | - Marcus Weck
- Molecular Design Institute Department of Chemistry New York University New York NY 10003 USA
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8
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Villanueva-Valencia JR, Guo H, Castañeda-Priego R, Liu Y. Concentration and size effects on the size-selective particle purification method using the critical Casimir force. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2021; 23:4404-4412. [PMID: 33594400 DOI: 10.1039/d0cp06136k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Critical Casimir force (CCF) is a solvent fluctuation introduced interaction between particles dispersed in a binary solvent. Recently, it has been demonstrated that the CCF induced attraction between particles can trigger particle size-sensitive aggregation, and has thus been used as an efficient way to purify nanoparticles by size. Here, combining small angle neutron scattering and dynamic light scattering, we investigate the effects of size and concentration on this particle size separation method. Increasing the particle concentration does not significantly affect the purification method, but the solvent composition needs to be adjusted for an optimized efficiency. This purification method is further demonstrated to work also very efficiently for systems with particle size ranging from 15 nm to about 50 nm with a very large size polydispersity. These results indicate that for both short-ranged and long-ranged attraction relative to the particle diameter, the CCF introduced particle aggregation is always size sensitive. This implies that particle aggregation is strongly affected by size polydispersity for many colloidal systems. We further propose a method to use light scattering to help identify the temperature range within which this particle purification method can work efficiently instead of using neutron scattering.
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Affiliation(s)
- José Ramón Villanueva-Valencia
- Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA. and Sciences and Engineering Division, University of Guanajuato, Leon, Guanajuato 37150, Mexico
| | - Hongyu Guo
- Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA. and Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA.
| | - Ramón Castañeda-Priego
- Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA. and Sciences and Engineering Division, University of Guanajuato, Leon, Guanajuato 37150, Mexico
| | - Yun Liu
- Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA. and Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA.
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9
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Farahmand Bafi N, Nowakowski P, Dietrich S. Effective pair interaction of patchy particles in critical fluids. J Chem Phys 2020; 152:114902. [PMID: 32199445 DOI: 10.1063/5.0001293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
We study the critical Casimir interaction between two spherical colloids immersed in a binary liquid mixture close to its critical demixing point. The surface of each colloid prefers one species of the mixture with the exception of a circular patch of arbitrary size, where the other species is preferred. For such objects, we calculate, within the Derjaguin approximation, the scaling function describing the critical Casimir potential, and we use it to derive the scaling functions for all components of the forces and torques acting on both colloids. The results are compared with available experimental data. Moreover, the general relation between the scaling function for the potential and the scaling functions for the force and the torque is derived.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Farahmand Bafi
- Max-Planck-Institut für Intelligente Systeme, Heisenbergstr. 3, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany and Institut für Theoretische Physik IV, Universität Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 57, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
| | - P Nowakowski
- Max-Planck-Institut für Intelligente Systeme, Heisenbergstr. 3, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany and Institut für Theoretische Physik IV, Universität Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 57, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
| | - S Dietrich
- Max-Planck-Institut für Intelligente Systeme, Heisenbergstr. 3, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany and Institut für Theoretische Physik IV, Universität Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 57, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
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10
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Rens R, Lerner E. Rigidity and auxeticity transitions in networks with strong bond-bending interactions. THE EUROPEAN PHYSICAL JOURNAL. E, SOFT MATTER 2019; 42:114. [PMID: 31486002 DOI: 10.1140/epje/i2019-11888-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2019] [Accepted: 08/09/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
A widely studied model for gels or biopolymeric fibrous materials are networks with central force interactions, such as Hookean springs. Less commonly studied are materials whose mechanics are dominated by non-central force interactions such as bond-bending potentials. Inspired by recent experimental advancements in designing colloidal gels with tunable interactions, we study the micro- and macroscopic elasticity of two-dimensional planar graphs with strong bond-bending potentials, in addition to weak central forces. We introduce a theoretical framework that allows us to directly investigate the limit in which the ratio of characteristic central-force to bending stiffnesses vanishes. In this limit we show that a generic isostatic point exists at [Formula: see text], coinciding with the isostatic point of frames with central-force interactions in two dimensions. We further demonstrate the emergence of a stiffening transition when the coordination is increased towards the isostatic point, which shares similarities with the strain-induced stiffening transition observed in biopolymeric fibrous materials, and coincides with an auxeticity transition above which the material's Poisson's ratio approaches -1 when bond-bending interactions dominate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robbie Rens
- Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Edan Lerner
- Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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11
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Semeraro EF, Dattani R, Narayanan T. Microstructure and dynamics of Janus particles in a phase separating medium. J Chem Phys 2018; 148:014904. [PMID: 29306301 DOI: 10.1063/1.5008400] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The evolution of interactions and dynamics of Janus colloidal particles suspended in quasi-binary liquid mixtures undergoing phase separation is presented. The experimental system consisted of silica-nickel Janus particles dispersed in mixtures of 3-methylpyridine, water, and heavy water. Colloidal microstructure and dynamics were probed by ultra-small-angle X-ray scattering and ultra-small-angle X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy, respectively. The observed static and dynamic behaviors are significantly different from those found for Stöber silica colloids in this mixture. The Janus particles manifest a slow aggregation below the coexistence temperature and become strongly attractive upon phase separation of the solvent mixture. In the two-phase region, particles tend to display surfactant-like behavior with silica and nickel surfaces likely preferring water and 3-methylpyridine rich phases, respectively. While the onset of diffusiophoretic motion is evident in the dynamics, it is gradually suppressed by particle clustering at the investigated colloid volume fractions.
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12
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Tuning Patchy Bonds Induced by Critical Casimir Forces. MATERIALS 2017; 10:ma10111265. [PMID: 29099788 PMCID: PMC5706212 DOI: 10.3390/ma10111265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2017] [Revised: 10/30/2017] [Accepted: 10/31/2017] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Experimental control of patchy interactions promises new routes for the assembly of complex colloidal structures, but remains challenging. Here, we investigate the role of patch width in the assembly of patchy colloidal particles assembled by critical Casimir forces. The particles are composed of a hydrophobic dumbbell with an equatorial hydrophilic polymer shell, and are synthesized to have well-defined patch-to-shell area ratios. Patch-to-patch binding is achieved in near-critical binary solvents, in which the particle interaction strength and range are controlled by the temperature-dependent solvent correlation length. Upon decreasing the patch-to-shell area ratio, we observe a pronounced change of the bonding morphology towards directed single-bonded configurations, as clearly reflected in the formation of chain-like structures. Computer simulations using an effective critical Casimir pair potential for the patches show that the morphology change results from the geometric exclusion of the increasingly thick hydrophilic particle shells. These results highlight the experimental control of patchy interactions through the engineering of the building blocks on the way towards rationally designed colloidal superstructures.
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13
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Newton AC, Kools R, Swenson DWH, Bolhuis PG. The opposing effects of isotropic and anisotropic attraction on association kinetics of proteins and colloids. J Chem Phys 2017; 147:155101. [DOI: 10.1063/1.5006485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Arthur C. Newton
- Van ’t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Ramses Kools
- Van ’t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - David W. H. Swenson
- Van ’t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Peter G. Bolhuis
- Van ’t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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