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De Virgiliis A, Meyra A, Ciach A. Lattice Model Results for Pattern Formation in a Mixture with Competing Interactions. Molecules 2024; 29:1512. [PMID: 38611792 PMCID: PMC11013164 DOI: 10.3390/molecules29071512] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2024] [Revised: 03/22/2024] [Accepted: 03/25/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024] Open
Abstract
A monolayer consisting of two types of particles, with energetically favored alternating stripes of the two components, is studied by Monte Carlo simulations and within a mesoscopic theory. We consider a triangular lattice model and assume short-range attraction and long-range repulsion between particles of the same kind, as well as short-range repulsion and long-range attraction for the cross-interaction. The structural evolution of the model upon increasing temperature is studied for equal chemical potentials of the two species. We determine the structure factor, the chemical potential-density isotherms, the specific heat, and the compressibility, and show how these thermodynamic functions are associated with the spontaneous formation of stripes with varying degrees of order.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andres De Virgiliis
- Instituto de Física de Líquidos y Sistemas Biológicos, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas-UNLP-CONICET, La Plata 1900, Argentina; (A.D.V.); (A.M.)
- Departamento de Ciencias Básicas, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata 1900, Argentina
| | - Ariel Meyra
- Instituto de Física de Líquidos y Sistemas Biológicos, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas-UNLP-CONICET, La Plata 1900, Argentina; (A.D.V.); (A.M.)
- Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica, Facultad Regional La Plata, Universidad Tecnológica Nacional, La Plata 1900, Argentina
| | - Alina Ciach
- Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, 01-224 Warsaw, Poland
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2
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Sato M. Formation of various structures caused by particle size difference in colloidal heteroepitaxy. Sci Rep 2024; 14:3245. [PMID: 38331999 PMCID: PMC10853232 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-53850-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 02/10/2024] Open
Abstract
By performing isothermal-isochoric Monte Carlo simulations with depletion force, the author investigated the dependence of the epitxial layer structure on the differences in the particle size between the substrate in colloidal heteroepitaxy. By changing the size of epitaxial particles and performing simulations comprehensively, various structures including the structures observed in a experiment, such as a honeycomb, one created by hexagonal heptamers, and one consisting of both pentagonal tiles and triangular tiles, were created. When the ratio of particle sizes between the epitxial layer and substrate takes a specific value, two types of hexagonal structures were created. One is the hexagonal layer parallel to the substrate layer and the other layer is rotated by 60[Formula: see text] from the substrate layer. The former structure was created over a wide range of particle-size ratios, whereas the latter structure was created when the particle-size ratio was only around the specific ratio, and it seemed a metastable structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masahide Sato
- Emerging Media Initiative, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, 920-1192, Japan.
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3
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Li N, Li J, Qing L, Ma S, Li Y, Li B. Self-assembly of colloids with competing interactions confined in spheres. SOFT MATTER 2024; 20:304-314. [PMID: 38050746 DOI: 10.1039/d3sm01227a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/06/2023]
Abstract
At low temperatures, colloidal particles with short-range attractive and long-range repulsive interactions can form various periodic microphases in bulk. In this paper, we investigate the self-assembly behaviour of colloids with competing interactions under spherical confinement by conducting molecular dynamics simulations. We find that the cluster, mixture, cylindrical, perforated lamellar and lamellar structures can be obtained, but the details of the ordered structures are different from those in bulk systems. Interestingly, the system tends to form more perforated structures when confined in smaller spheres. The mechanism behind this phenomenon is driven by the relationship between the energy of the ordered structures and the bending of the confinement wall, which is different from the mechanism in copolymer systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ningyi Li
- School of Physics, Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials of Ministry of Education, Nankai University, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin, 300071, China.
| | - Junhong Li
- School of Physics, Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials of Ministry of Education, Nankai University, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin, 300071, China.
| | - Lijingting Qing
- School of Physics, Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials of Ministry of Education, Nankai University, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin, 300071, China.
| | - Shicheng Ma
- School of Physics, Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials of Ministry of Education, Nankai University, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin, 300071, China.
| | - Yao Li
- School of Physics, Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials of Ministry of Education, Nankai University, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin, 300071, China.
| | - Baohui Li
- School of Physics, Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials of Ministry of Education, Nankai University, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin, 300071, China.
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Serna H, Meyra AG, Noya EG, Góźdź WT. Self-Assembly of Optimally Packed Cylindrical Clusters inside Spherical Shells. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:7059-7065. [PMID: 36047942 PMCID: PMC9483920 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c04850] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Systems with short-range attraction and long-range repulsion can form ordered microphases in bulk and under confinement. Using grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations, we study a colloidal system with competing interactions under confinement in narrow spherical shells at thermodynamic conditions at which the hexagonal phase of cylindrical clusters is stable in bulk. We observe spontaneous formation of different ordered structures. The results of the simulations are in a very good agreement with the predictions of a simple mathematical model based on the geometry and optimal packing of colloidal clusters. The results of the simulations and the explanation provided by a relatively simple geometric model may be helpful in manufacturing copolymer nanocapsules and may indicate possible ways of coiling DNA strands on spherical objects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Horacio Serna
- Institute of Physical Chemistry Polish Academy of Sciences, Kasprzaka 44/52, 01-224 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Ariel G Meyra
- IFLYSIB (UNLP,CONICET), 59 No. 789, B1900BTE La Plata, Argentina.,Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica, UTN-FRLP, Av. 60 esq. 124, 1900 La Plata, Argentina
| | - Eva G Noya
- Instituto de Química Física Rocasolano, CSIC, C/Serrano 119, 28006 Madrid, Spain
| | - Wojciech T Góźdź
- Institute of Physical Chemistry Polish Academy of Sciences, Kasprzaka 44/52, 01-224 Warsaw, Poland
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Munaò G, Costa D, Malescio G, Bomont JM, Prestipino S. Competition between clustering and phase separation in binary mixtures containing SALR particles. SOFT MATTER 2022; 18:6453-6464. [PMID: 35984438 DOI: 10.1039/d2sm00944g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
We investigate by Monte Carlo simulations a mixture of particles with competing interactions (hard-sphere two-Yukawa, HSTY) and hard spheres (HS), with same diameters σ and a square-well (SW) cross attraction. In a recent study [G. Munaò et al., J. Phys. Chem. B, 2022, 126, 2027-2039], we have analysed situations-in terms of relative concentration and attraction strength-where HS promote the formation of clusters involving particles of both species under thermodynamic conditions that would not allow for clustering of the pure HSTY fluid. Here, we focus on the role played by the range of cross attraction in determining the equilibrium structure of the mixture, starting from a homogeneous low-density state. When the width of the well exceeds approximately σ, clustering takes place in the system, with aggregates characterised by various sizes and shapes. Only for low HSTY concentrations (less than 10%) a single big cluster appears, anticipating the behaviour observed for a wider well, around 1.2σ. In the latter case, a spherical cluster encompassing almost all particles is the stable structure at equilibrium. We interpret this outcome as a macrophase, liquid-vapour separation where the spherical cluster is just the form taken at low density by the liquid phase inside the vapour phase: indeed, when the density takes larger values, periodic boundary conditions select liquid-vapour interfaces with other non-spherical shapes, similarly as found for a finite sample of simple fluid going through the liquid-vapour coexistence region. For still higher densities we document the existence of a solid phase characterized by the alternation of bilayers filled with particles of one species and bilayers of the other species, giving the solid a peculiar wafer structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gianmarco Munaò
- Dipartimento di Scienze Matematiche e Informatiche, Scienze Fisiche e Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Messina, Viale F. Stagno d'Alcontres 31, 98166 Messina, Italy.
| | - Dino Costa
- Dipartimento di Scienze Matematiche e Informatiche, Scienze Fisiche e Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Messina, Viale F. Stagno d'Alcontres 31, 98166 Messina, Italy.
| | - Gianpietro Malescio
- Dipartimento di Scienze Matematiche e Informatiche, Scienze Fisiche e Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Messina, Viale F. Stagno d'Alcontres 31, 98166 Messina, Italy.
| | | | - Santi Prestipino
- Dipartimento di Scienze Matematiche e Informatiche, Scienze Fisiche e Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Messina, Viale F. Stagno d'Alcontres 31, 98166 Messina, Italy.
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6
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Soft core fluid with competing interactions at a hard wall. J Mol Liq 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molliq.2022.119652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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7
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Munaò G, Prestipino S, Bomont JM, Costa D. Clustering in Mixtures of SALR Particles and Hard Spheres with Cross Attraction. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:2027-2039. [PMID: 35224968 PMCID: PMC8919255 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.1c09758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
![]()
Self-assembling complex
fluids are often modeled as particles with
effective competing isotropic interactions, combining a short-range
attraction (SA) followed by a longer-range repulsion (LR). For moderately
low temperatures and densities, SALR particles form clusters in equilibrium,
at least provided that the potential parameters are appropriate. Here
we inquire into the possibility that cluster formation in SALR fluids
might be pushed by a foreign species even under thermodynamic conditions
that would not allow for clusterization of the pure system. To this
aim, we study by Monte Carlo simulations a mixture of hard-sphere
two-Yukawa particles and hard spheres, with a cross interaction modeled
by a square-well attraction, and we investigate the conditions of
clustering in terms of strength of attraction and relative concentration
of the two species. We find that clusters can occur in the mixture
for the same temperature and density where the pure SALR fluid is
almost structureless. In particular, we single out a cross attraction
such that clusters are formed with a SALR concentration as low as
5%. We also find a situation where nearly pure droplets of hard spheres
are held together by a shell of SALR particles. Conversely, we show
that clustering can be undermined in the mixture under conditions
for which this process takes place in the parent SALR fluid. Using
a simple criterion, based on the second virial coefficients of the
attractive part of interaction potentials (the so-called “reference
attractive fluids”), we are able to predict accurately whether
clustering is favored (or hindered) in the mixture, as compared to
the pure SALR fluid.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gianmarco Munaò
- Dipartimento di Scienze Matematiche e Informatiche, Scienze Fisiche e Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Messina, viale F. Stagno d’Alcontres 31, 98166 Messina, Italy
| | - Santi Prestipino
- Dipartimento di Scienze Matematiche e Informatiche, Scienze Fisiche e Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Messina, viale F. Stagno d’Alcontres 31, 98166 Messina, Italy
| | - Jean-Marc Bomont
- Université de Lorraine, LCP-A2MC, UR 3469, 1 Blvd. François Arago, Metz F-57078, France
| | - Dino Costa
- Dipartimento di Scienze Matematiche e Informatiche, Scienze Fisiche e Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Messina, viale F. Stagno d’Alcontres 31, 98166 Messina, Italy
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Structural and Dynamical Behaviour of Colloids with Competing Interactions Confined in Slit Pores. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms222011050. [PMID: 34681706 PMCID: PMC8537752 DOI: 10.3390/ijms222011050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2021] [Revised: 10/08/2021] [Accepted: 10/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Systems with short-range attractive and long-range repulsive interactions can form periodic modulated phases at low temperatures, such as cluster-crystal, hexagonal, lamellar and bicontinuous gyroid phases. These periodic microphases should be stable regardless of the physical origin of the interactions. However, they have not yet been experimentally observed in colloidal systems, where, in principle, the interactions can be tuned by modifying the colloidal solution. Our goal is to investigate whether the formation of some of these periodic microphases can be promoted by confinement in narrow slit pores. By performing simulations of a simple model with competing interactions, we find that both the cluster-crystal and lamellar phases can be stable up to higher temperatures than in the bulk system, whereas the hexagonal phase is destabilised at temperatures somewhat lower than in bulk. Besides, we observed that the internal ordering of the lamellar phase can be modified by changing the pore width. Interestingly, for sufficiently wide pores to host three lamellae, there is a range of temperatures for which the two lamellae close to the walls are internally ordered, whereas the one at the centre of the pore remains internally disordered. We also find that particle diffusion under confinement exhibits a complex dependence with the pore width and with the density, obtaining larger and smaller values of the diffusion coefficient than in the corresponding bulk system.
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Litniewski M, Ciach A. Adsorption in Mixtures with Competing Interactions. Molecules 2021; 26:molecules26154532. [PMID: 34361684 PMCID: PMC8347297 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26154532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2021] [Revised: 07/20/2021] [Accepted: 07/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
A binary mixture of oppositely charged particles with additional short-range attraction between like particles and short-range repulsion between different ones in the neighborhood of a substrate preferentially adsorbing the first component is studied by molecular dynamics simulations. The studied thermodynamic states correspond to an approach to the gas–crystal coexistence. Dependence of the near-surface structure, adsorption and selective adsorption on the strength of the wall–particle interactions and the gas density is determined. We find that alternating layers or bilayers of particles of the two components are formed, but the number of the adsorbed layers, their orientation and the ordered patterns formed inside these layers could be quite different for different substrates and gas density. Different structures are associated with different numbers of adsorbed layers, and for strong attraction the thickness of the adsorbed film can be as large as seven particle diameters. In all cases, similar amount of particles of the two components is adsorbed, because of the long-range attraction between different particles.
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