Molecular dynamics simulation of liquid–vapor phase equilibria in polar fluids

Self-Assembly of Model Three- and Four-Patch Colloidal Particles in Two Dimensions

A coarse-grained effective solvent model of two-patch particles is extended to study the self-assembly of three- and four-patch particles to two-dimensional honeycomb and square lattices, respectively. Employing this model, grand canonical ensemble simulations are done to calculate vapor-liquid equilibria and the critical temperatures for patchy particles of various patch widths. The range of stability of the liquid, although very limited compared to isotropic particles, which interact through a longer-range potential, depends on the patch width and on the number of patches. Biased sampling and unbiased simulations are also done to investigate the mechanism of nucleation and crystal growth for honeycomb and square lattices, self-assembled from three- and four-patch particles, respectively. A two-step mechanism governs the nucleation of both lattices. In the first step, the particles form a dense amorphous network, and in the second step, the particles inside the amorphous network reorient to form crystalline nuclei. Barrier heights for the nucleation of honeycomb and square lattices are 7.8 kBT and 7.4 kBT, which are close to the reported values for the nucleation of the kagome lattice. In agreement with confocal microscopy experiments, the self-assembly in a honeycomb lattice involves the formation of 5- to 7-membered rings. The 5- and 7-membered rings hamper the nucleation of the honeycomb lattice, through defect formation and rotation of the symmetry planes of crystals that form at their surfaces. With the progress of self-assembly, a substantial amount of restructuring of the defects and crystals in their vicinity is needed to heal the defects.

Water uptake by gecko β-keratin and the influence of relative humidity on its mechanical and volumetric properties

Grand canonical ensemble molecular dynamics simulations are done to calculate the water content of gecko β-keratin as a function of relative humidity (RH). For comparison, we experimentally measured the water uptake of scales of the skin of cobra Naja nigricollis. The calculated sigmoidal sorption isotherm is in good agreement with experiment. To examine the softening effect of water on gecko keratin, we have calculated the mechanical properties of dry and wet keratin samples, and we have established relations between the mechanical properties and the RH. We found that a higher RH causes a decrease in the Young's modulus, the yield stress, the yield strain, the stress at failure and an increase in the strain at failure of the gecko keratin. At low RHs (less than 80%), the change in the mechanical properties is small, with most of the changes occurring at higher RHs. The changes in the macroscopic properties of the keratin are explained by the action of sorbed water on the molecular scale. It causes keratin to swell, thereby increasing the distances between amino acids. This has a weakening effect on amino acid interactions and softens the keratin material. The effect is more pronounced at higher RHs.

Self-Assembly of Model Triblock Janus Colloidal Particles in Two Dimensions

A simplified two-dimensional effective-solvent model of triblock Janus particles, consisting of three interaction sites in a linear configuration, a core particle, and two particles modeling the attractive patches at the poles, is developed to study the mechanism of nucleation and self-assembly in triblock Janus particles. The potential energy parameters are tuned against phase transition temperatures and free energy barriers to the nucleation of crystalline phases, calculated from our previous detailed model of Janus particles. Vapor-liquid equilibria and critical temperatures are calculated by grand-canonical molecular dynamics simulations for particles of different patch widths. With metadynamics, phase equilibria, mechanism of nucleation, and free energy barriers to nucleation are investigated. The minimum free energy path to nucleation indicates two steps. The first step, with a higher free energy increase, consists of the densification of the fluid into a disordered cluster. In the second step, of a lower free energy barrier, the inner particles of the disordered cluster reorient to form a crystalline nucleus. This two-step mechanism of nucleation of a kagome lattice is in complete agreement with the experiment and with our previous simulations using a detailed model of Janus particles. Large systems at a slight supersaturation generate multiple crystalline domains, which are misaligned at the grain boundaries. In complete agreement with the experiment and with previous simulation results, we observe a two-step mechanism for crystal growth: melting of the smaller (less stable) crystallites to a fluid followed by recrystallization at the surface of neighboring bigger (more stable) crystallites. A comparison of the present softer modeling of a Janus particle with harder models in the literature for self-assembly of Janus particles indicates that softer potentials stabilize open lattices (e.g., kagome) more than dense lattices (e.g., hexagonal). Also, experimental locations of phase transition points and barrier heights to nucleation are better reproduced by the present model than by the existing simple models.

Grand canonical ensemble molecular dynamics simulation of water solubility in polyamide-6,6

Grand canonical ensemble molecular dynamics simulation is employed to calculate the solubility of water in polyamide-6,6. It is shown that performing two separate simulations, one in the polymeric phase and one in the gaseous phase, is sufficient to find the phase coexistence point. In this method, the chemical potential of water in the polymer phase is expanded as a first-order Taylor series in terms of pressure. Knowing the chemical potential of water in the polymer phase in terms of pressure, another simulation for water in the gaseous phase, in the grand canonical ensemble, is done in which the target chemical potential is set in terms of pressure in the gas phase. The phase coexistence point can easily be calculated from the results of these two independent simulations. Our calculated sorption isotherms and solubility coefficients of water in polyamide-6,6, over a wide range of temperatures and pressures, agree with experimental data.