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Deng K, Luo Z, Tan L, Quan Z. Self-assembly of anisotropic nanoparticles into functional superstructures. Chem Soc Rev 2020; 49:6002-6038. [PMID: 32692337 DOI: 10.1039/d0cs00541j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 119] [Impact Index Per Article: 29.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/28/2024]
Abstract
Self-assembly of colloidal nanoparticles (NPs) into superstructures offers a flexible and promising pathway to manipulate the nanometer-sized particles and thus make full use of their unique properties. This bottom-up strategy builds a bridge between the NP regime and a new class of transformative materials across multiple length scales for technological applications. In this field, anisotropic NPs with size- and shape-dependent physical properties as self-assembly building blocks have long fascinated scientists. Self-assembly of anisotropic NPs not only opens up exciting opportunities to engineer a variety of intriguing and complex superlattice architectures, but also provides access to discover emergent collective properties that stem from their ordered arrangement. Thus, this has stimulated enormous research interests in both fundamental science and technological applications. This present review comprehensively summarizes the latest advances in this area, and highlights their rich packing behaviors from the viewpoint of NP shape. We provide the basics of the experimental techniques to produce NP superstructures and structural characterization tools, and detail the delicate assembled structures. Then the current understanding of the assembly dynamics is discussed with the assistance of in situ studies, followed by emergent collective properties from these NP assemblies. Finally, we end this article with the remaining challenges and outlook, hoping to encourage further research in this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kerong Deng
- Department of Chemistry, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Key Laboratory of Energy Conversion and Storage Technologies, Ministry of Education, Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, China.
| | - Zhishan Luo
- Department of Chemistry, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Key Laboratory of Energy Conversion and Storage Technologies, Ministry of Education, Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, China.
| | - Li Tan
- Department of Chemistry, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Key Laboratory of Energy Conversion and Storage Technologies, Ministry of Education, Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, China.
| | - Zewei Quan
- Department of Chemistry, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Key Laboratory of Energy Conversion and Storage Technologies, Ministry of Education, Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, China.
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2
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Liu Y, Deng K, Yang J, Wu X, Fan X, Tang M, Quan Z. Shape-directed self-assembly of nanodumbbells into superstructure polymorphs. Chem Sci 2020; 11:4065-4073. [PMID: 34122872 PMCID: PMC8152806 DOI: 10.1039/d0sc00592d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2020] [Accepted: 03/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Self-assembly of colloidal nanoparticles into ordered superstructures provides a promising route to create novel/enhanced functional materials. Much progress has been made in self-assembly of anisotropic nanoparticles, but the complexity and tunability of superstructures remain restricted by their available geometries. Here we report the controlled packing of nanodumbbells (NDs) with two spherical lobes connected by one rod-like middle bar into varied superstructure polymorphs. When assembled into two-dimensional (2D) monolayer assemblies, such NDs with specific shape parameters could form orientationally ordered degenerate crystals with a 6-fold symmetry, in which these NDs possess no translational order but three allowed orientations with a rotational symmetry of 120 degrees. Detailed analyses identify the distinct roles of subunits in the ND assembly: the spherical lobes direct NDs to closely assemble together into a hexagonal pattern, and the rod-like connection between the lobes endows NDs with this specific orientational order. Such intralayer assembly features are well maintained in the two-layer superstructures of NDs; however, the interlayer stackings could be adjusted to produce stable bilayer superstructures and a series of metastable moiré patterns. Moreover, in addition to horizontal alignment, these NDs could gradually stand up to form tilted or even vertical packing based on the delicate control over the liquid-liquid interface and ND dimensions. This study provides novel insights into creating superstructures by controlling geometric features of nanoscale building blocks and may spur their novel applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yulian Liu
- Department of Chemistry, Shenzhen Engineering Research Center for Frontier Materials Synthesis at High Pressures, Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) Shenzhen Guangdong 518055 China
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southwest University Chongqing 400715 China
| | - Kerong Deng
- Department of Chemistry, Shenzhen Engineering Research Center for Frontier Materials Synthesis at High Pressures, Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) Shenzhen Guangdong 518055 China
| | - Jun Yang
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southwest University Chongqing 400715 China
| | - Xiaotong Wu
- Department of Chemistry, Shenzhen Engineering Research Center for Frontier Materials Synthesis at High Pressures, Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) Shenzhen Guangdong 518055 China
| | - Xiaokun Fan
- Department of Chemistry, Shenzhen Engineering Research Center for Frontier Materials Synthesis at High Pressures, Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) Shenzhen Guangdong 518055 China
| | - Min Tang
- Department of Chemistry, Shenzhen Engineering Research Center for Frontier Materials Synthesis at High Pressures, Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) Shenzhen Guangdong 518055 China
| | - Zewei Quan
- Department of Chemistry, Shenzhen Engineering Research Center for Frontier Materials Synthesis at High Pressures, Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) Shenzhen Guangdong 518055 China
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3
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Espinosa JR, Vega C, Valeriani C, Frenkel D, Sanz E. Heterogeneous versus homogeneous crystal nucleation of hard spheres. SOFT MATTER 2019; 15:9625-9631. [PMID: 31613303 DOI: 10.1039/c9sm01142k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Hard-sphere model systems are well-suited in both experiment and simulations to investigate fundamental aspects of the crystallization of fluids. In experiments on colloidal models of hard-sphere fluids, the fluid is unavoidably in contact with the walls of the sample cell, where heterogeneous crystallization may take place. In this work we use simulations to investigate the competition between homogeneous and heterogeneous crystallization. We report simulations of wall-induced nucleation for different confining walls. Combining the results of these simulations with earlier studies of homogeneous crystallization allows us to assess the competition between homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation as a function of the wall type, fluid density and the system size. On flat walls, heterogeneous nucleation will typically overwhelm homogeneous nucleation. Even for surfaces randomly coated with spheres with a diameter that was some three times larger than that of the fluid spheres - as has been used in some experiments - heterogeneous nucleation is likely to be dominant for volume fractions smaller than ∼0.535. Only for a disordered coating that has the same structure as the liquid did we find that nucleation was likely to occur in the bulk. Hence, such coatings might be used to suppress heterogeneous nucleation in experiments. Finally, we report the apparent homogeneous nucleation rate taking into account the formation of crystallites both in the bulk and at the walls. We find that the apparent overall nucleation rates coincide with those reported in "homogeneous nucleation" experiments. This suggests that heterogeneous nucleation at the walls could partly explain the large discrepancies found between experimental measurements and simulation estimates of the homogeneous nucleation rate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorge R Espinosa
- Departamento de Quimica Fisica, Facultad de Ciencias Quimicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
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Zubieta I, Vázquez del Saz M, Llombart P, Vega C, Noya EG. Nucleation of pseudo hard-spheres and dumbbells at moderate metastability: appearance of A15 Frank–Kasper phase at intermediate elongations. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2019; 21:1656-1670. [PMID: 30383878 DOI: 10.1039/c8cp04964e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Crystal nucleation of repulsive hard-dumbbells from the sphere to the two tangent spheres limit is investigated at moderately high metastability by brute-force molecular dynamics simulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Itziar Zubieta
- Instituto de Química Física Rocasolano
- Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas
- CSIC
- 28006 Madrid
- Spain
| | - Miguel Vázquez del Saz
- Instituto de Química Física Rocasolano
- Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas
- CSIC
- 28006 Madrid
- Spain
| | - Pablo Llombart
- Instituto de Química Física Rocasolano
- Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas
- CSIC
- 28006 Madrid
- Spain
| | - Carlos Vega
- Departamento de Química Física (Unidad Asociada de I+D+i al CSIC)
- Facultad de Ciencias Químicas
- Universidad Complutense de Madrid
- 28040 Madrid
- Spain
| | - Eva G. Noya
- Instituto de Química Física Rocasolano
- Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas
- CSIC
- 28006 Madrid
- Spain
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5
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Liu L, Yu Z, Jin W, Yuan Y, Li S. Uniform and decoupled shape effects on the maximally dense random packings of hard superellipsoids. POWDER TECHNOL 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.powtec.2018.06.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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6
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Packing, entropic patchiness, and self-assembly of non-convex colloidal particles: A simulation perspective. Curr Opin Colloid Interface Sci 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cocis.2017.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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7
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Sosso G, Chen J, Cox SJ, Fitzner M, Pedevilla P, Zen A, Michaelides A. Crystal Nucleation in Liquids: Open Questions and Future Challenges in Molecular Dynamics Simulations. Chem Rev 2016; 116:7078-116. [PMID: 27228560 PMCID: PMC4919765 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.5b00744] [Citation(s) in RCA: 379] [Impact Index Per Article: 47.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The nucleation of crystals in liquids is one of nature's most ubiquitous phenomena, playing an important role in areas such as climate change and the production of drugs. As the early stages of nucleation involve exceedingly small time and length scales, atomistic computer simulations can provide unique insights into the microscopic aspects of crystallization. In this review, we take stock of the numerous molecular dynamics simulations that, in the past few decades, have unraveled crucial aspects of crystal nucleation in liquids. We put into context the theoretical framework of classical nucleation theory and the state-of-the-art computational methods by reviewing simulations of such processes as ice nucleation and the crystallization of molecules in solutions. We shall see that molecular dynamics simulations have provided key insights into diverse nucleation scenarios, ranging from colloidal particles to natural gas hydrates, and that, as a result, the general applicability of classical nucleation theory has been repeatedly called into question. We have attempted to identify the most pressing open questions in the field. We believe that, by improving (i) existing interatomic potentials and (ii) currently available enhanced sampling methods, the community can move toward accurate investigations of realistic systems of practical interest, thus bringing simulations a step closer to experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriele
C. Sosso
- Thomas Young Centre, London
Centre for Nanotechnology and Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street WC1E
6BT London, U.K.
| | - Ji Chen
- Thomas Young Centre, London
Centre for Nanotechnology and Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street WC1E
6BT London, U.K.
| | | | - Martin Fitzner
- Thomas Young Centre, London
Centre for Nanotechnology and Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street WC1E
6BT London, U.K.
| | - Philipp Pedevilla
- Thomas Young Centre, London
Centre for Nanotechnology and Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street WC1E
6BT London, U.K.
| | - Andrea Zen
- Thomas Young Centre, London
Centre for Nanotechnology and Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street WC1E
6BT London, U.K.
| | - Angelos Michaelides
- Thomas Young Centre, London
Centre for Nanotechnology and Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street WC1E
6BT London, U.K.
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8
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Heptner N, Chu F, Lu Y, Lindner P, Ballauff M, Dzubiella J. Nonequilibrium structure of colloidal dumbbells under oscillatory shear. PHYSICAL REVIEW. E, STATISTICAL, NONLINEAR, AND SOFT MATTER PHYSICS 2015; 92:052311. [PMID: 26651699 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.92.052311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
We investigate the nonequilibrium behavior of dense, plastic-crystalline suspensions of mildly anisotropic colloidal hard dumbbells under the action of an oscillatory shear field by employing Brownian dynamics computer simulations. In particular, we extend previous investigations, where we uncovered nonequilibrium phase transitions, to other aspect ratios and to a larger nonequilibrium parameter space, that is, a wider range of strains and shear frequencies. We compare and discuss selected results in the context of scattering and rheological experiments. Both simulations and experiments demonstrate that the previously found transitions from the plastic crystal phase with increasing shear strain also occur at other aspect ratios. We explore the transition behavior in the strain-frequency phase and summarize it in a nonequilibrium phase diagram. Additionally, the experimental rheology results hint at a slowing down of the colloidal dynamics with higher aspect ratio.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nils Heptner
- Institut für Weiche Materie und funktionale Materialien, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH, Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1, 14109 Berlin, Germany
- Institut für Physik, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Newtonstraße 15, D-12489 Berlin, Germany
| | - Fangfang Chu
- Institut für Weiche Materie und funktionale Materialien, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH, Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1, 14109 Berlin, Germany
- Institut für Physik, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Newtonstraße 15, D-12489 Berlin, Germany
| | - Yan Lu
- Institut für Weiche Materie und funktionale Materialien, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH, Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1, 14109 Berlin, Germany
| | - Peter Lindner
- Institut Laue-Langevin, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, 38042 Grenoble Cedex 9, France
| | - Matthias Ballauff
- Institut für Weiche Materie und funktionale Materialien, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH, Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1, 14109 Berlin, Germany
- Institut für Physik, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Newtonstraße 15, D-12489 Berlin, Germany
| | - Joachim Dzubiella
- Institut für Weiche Materie und funktionale Materialien, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH, Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1, 14109 Berlin, Germany
- Institut für Physik, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Newtonstraße 15, D-12489 Berlin, Germany
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9
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Heptner N, Dzubiella J. Equilibrium structure and fluctuations of suspensions of colloidal dumbbells. Mol Phys 2015. [DOI: 10.1080/00268976.2015.1022609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nils Heptner
- Soft Matter and Functional Materials, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin , Berlin, Germany, Institut für Physik, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin , Berlin, Germany
| | - Joachim Dzubiella
- Soft Matter and Functional Materials, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin , Berlin, Germany, Institut für Physik, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin , Berlin, Germany
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10
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Munaò G, O'Toole P, Hudson TS, Costa D, Caccamo C, Sciortino F, Giacometti A. Cluster formation and phase separation in heteronuclear Janus dumbbells. JOURNAL OF PHYSICS. CONDENSED MATTER : AN INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS JOURNAL 2015; 27:234101. [PMID: 26010546 DOI: 10.1088/0953-8984/27/23/234101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
We have recently investigated the phase behavior of model colloidal dumbbells constituted by two identical tangent hard spheres, with the first being surrounded by an attractive square-well interaction (Janus dumbbells, Munaó et al 2014 Soft Matter 10 5269). Here we extend our previous analysis by introducing in the model the size asymmetry of the hard-core diameters and study the enriched phase scenario thereby obtained. By employing standard Monte Carlo simulations we show that in such 'heteronuclear Janus dumbbells' a larger hard-sphere site promotes the formation of clusters, whereas in the opposite condition a gas-liquid phase separation takes place, with a narrow interval of intermediate asymmetries wherein the two phase behaviors may compete. In addition, some peculiar geometrical arrangements, such as lamellæ, are observed only around the perfectly symmetric case. A qualitative agreement is found with recent experimental results, where it is shown that the roughness of molecular surfaces in heterogeneous dimers leads to the formation of colloidal micelles.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Munaò
- Dipartimento di Fisica e di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Messina, Viale F. Stagno d'Alcontres 31, 98166 Messina, Italy
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11
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Chu F, Heptner N, Lu Y, Siebenbürger M, Lindner P, Dzubiella J, Ballauff M. Colloidal Plastic Crystals in a Shear Field. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2015; 31:5992-6000. [PMID: 25635343 DOI: 10.1021/la504932p] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
We study the structure and viscoelastic behavior of 3D plastic crystals of colloidal dumbbells in an oscillatory shear field based on a combination of small-angle neutron scattering experiments under shear (rheo-SANS) and Brownian dynamics computer simulations. Sterically stabilized dumbbell-shaped microgels are used as hard dumbbell model systems which consist of dumbbell-shaped polystyrene (PS) cores and thermosensitive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) shells. Under increasing shear strain, a discontinuous transition is found from a twinned-fcc-like crystal to a partially oriented sliding-layer phase with a shear-molten state in between. In the novel partially oriented sliding-layer phase, the hard dumbbells exhibit a small but finite orientational order in the shear direction. We find that this weak correlation is sufficient to perturb the nature of the nonequilibrium phase transition as known for hard sphere systems. The discontinuous transition for hard dumbbells is observed to be accompanied by a novel yielding process with two yielding events in its viscoelastic shear response, while only a single yielding event is observed for sheared hard spheres. Our findings will be useful in interpreting the shear response of anisotropic colloidal systems and in generating novel colloidal crystals from anisotropic systems with applications in colloidal photonics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fangfang Chu
- †Institut für Physik, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Newtonstr. 15, D-12489 Berlin, Germany
- ‡Soft Matter and Functional Materials, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, Hahn-Meitner Platz 1, D-14109 Berlin, Germany
| | - Nils Heptner
- †Institut für Physik, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Newtonstr. 15, D-12489 Berlin, Germany
- ‡Soft Matter and Functional Materials, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, Hahn-Meitner Platz 1, D-14109 Berlin, Germany
| | - Yan Lu
- ‡Soft Matter and Functional Materials, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, Hahn-Meitner Platz 1, D-14109 Berlin, Germany
| | - Miriam Siebenbürger
- ‡Soft Matter and Functional Materials, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, Hahn-Meitner Platz 1, D-14109 Berlin, Germany
| | - Peter Lindner
- §Institut Laue-Langevin, 71 avenue des Martyrs - CS 20156 - 38042 Grenoble Cedex 9, France
| | - Joachim Dzubiella
- †Institut für Physik, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Newtonstr. 15, D-12489 Berlin, Germany
- ‡Soft Matter and Functional Materials, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, Hahn-Meitner Platz 1, D-14109 Berlin, Germany
| | - Matthias Ballauff
- †Institut für Physik, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Newtonstr. 15, D-12489 Berlin, Germany
- ‡Soft Matter and Functional Materials, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, Hahn-Meitner Platz 1, D-14109 Berlin, Germany
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12
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Kerasidou A, Mauboussin Y, Teboul V. A simple diatomic potential that prevents crystallization in supercooled liquids simulations. Chem Phys 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.chemphys.2015.02.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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13
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Dijkstra M. Entropy-Driven Phase Transitions in Colloids: From spheres to anisotropic particles. ADVANCES IN CHEMICAL PHYSICS 2014. [DOI: 10.1002/9781118949702.ch2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
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14
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Ni R, Cohen Stuart MA, Dijkstra M, Bolhuis PG. Crystallizing hard-sphere glasses by doping with active particles. SOFT MATTER 2014; 10:6609-6613. [PMID: 25079244 DOI: 10.1039/c4sm01015a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Crystallization and vitrification are two different routes to form a solid. Normally these two processes suppress each other, with the glass transition preventing crystallization at high density (or low temperature). This is even true for systems of colloidal hard spheres, which are commonly used as building blocks for novel functional materials with potential applications, e.g. photonic crystals. By performing Brownian dynamics simulations of glassy systems consisting of mixtures of active and passive hard spheres, we show that the crystallization of such hard-sphere glasses can be dramatically promoted by doping the system with small amounts of active particles. Surprisingly, even hard-sphere glasses of packing fraction up to ϕ = 0.635 crystallize, which is around 0.5% below the random close packing at ϕ ≃ 0.64. Our results suggest a novel way of fabricating crystalline materials from (colloidal) glasses. This is particularly important for materials that get easily kinetically trapped in glassy states, and the crystal nucleation hardly occurs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ran Ni
- Van 't Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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15
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Munaò G, O'Toole P, Hudson TS, Costa D, Caccamo C, Giacometti A, Sciortino F. Phase separation and self-assembly of colloidal dimers with tunable attractive strength: from symmetrical square-wells to Janus dumbbells. SOFT MATTER 2014; 10:5269-5279. [PMID: 24894703 DOI: 10.1039/c4sm00544a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
We numerically investigate colloidal dimers with asymmetric interaction strengths to study how the interplay between molecular geometry, excluded volume effects and attractive forces determines the overall phase behavior of such systems. Specifically, our model is constituted by two rigidly-connected tangent hard spheres interacting with other particles in the first instance via identical square-well attractions. Then, one of the square-well interactions is progressively weakened, until only the corresponding bare hard-core repulsion survives, giving rise to a "Janus dumbbell" model. We investigate structure, thermodynamics and phase behavior of the model by means of successive umbrella sampling and Monte Carlo simulations. In most of the cases, the system behaves as a standard simple fluid, characterized by a gas-liquid phase separation, for sufficiently low temperatures. In these conditions we observe a remarkable linear scaling of the critical temperature as a function of the interaction strength. But, as the interaction potential approaches the Janus dumbbell limit, we observe the spontaneous formation of self-assembled lamellar structures, preempting the gas-liquid phase separation. Comparison with previous studies allows us to pinpoint the role of the interaction range in controlling the onset of ordered structures and the competition between the formation of these structures and gas-liquid condensation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gianmarco Munaò
- Dipartimento di Fisica e di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Messina, Viale F. Stagno d'Alcontres 31, 98166 Messina, Italy. as
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16
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Thapar V, Escobedo FA. Localized orientational order chaperones the nucleation of rotator phases in hard polyhedral particles. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2014; 112:048301. [PMID: 24580494 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.112.048301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2013] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
The nucleation kinetics of the rotator phase in hard cuboctahedra, truncated octahedra, and rhombic dodecahedra is simulated via a combination of forward flux sampling and umbrella sampling. For comparable degrees of supersaturation, the polyhedra are found to have significantly lower free-energy barriers and faster nucleation rates than hard spheres. This difference primarily stems from localized orientational ordering, which steers polyhedral particles to pack more efficiently. Orientational order hence fosters here the growth of orientationally disordered nuclei.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vikram Thapar
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
| | - Fernando A Escobedo
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
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17
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Mickel W, Kapfer SC, Schröder-Turk GE, Mecke K. Shortcomings of the bond orientational order parameters for the analysis of disordered particulate matter. J Chem Phys 2013; 138:044501. [DOI: 10.1063/1.4774084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 182] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
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18
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Munaò G, Costa D, Giacometti A, Caccamo C, Sciortino F. Structure and phase behavior of colloidal dumbbells with tunable attractive interactions. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2013; 15:20590-9. [DOI: 10.1039/c3cp52425f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- G Munaò
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Roma "La Sapienza", Piazzale Aldo Moro 2, 00185 Roma, Italy.
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19
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Chu F, Siebenbürger M, Polzer F, Stolze C, Kaiser J, Hoffmann M, Heptner N, Dzubiella J, Drechsler M, Lu Y, Ballauff M. Synthesis and Characterization of Monodisperse Thermosensitive Dumbbell-Shaped Microgels. Macromol Rapid Commun 2012; 33:1042-8. [DOI: 10.1002/marc.201200062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2012] [Revised: 03/05/2012] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
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