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Carretas-Talamante AG, Zepeda-López JB, Lázaro-Lázaro E, Elizondo-Aguilera LF, Medina-Noyola M. Non-equilibrium view of the amorphous solidification of liquids with competing interactions. J Chem Phys 2023; 158:064506. [PMID: 36792503 DOI: 10.1063/5.0132525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
The interplay between short-range attractions and long-range repulsions (SALR) characterizes the so-called liquids with competing interactions, which are known to exhibit a variety of equilibrium and non-equilibrium phases. The theoretical description of the phenomenology associated with glassy or gel states in these systems has to take into account both the presence of thermodynamic instabilities (such as those defining the spinodal line and the so called λ line) and the limited capability to describe genuine non-equilibrium processes from first principles. Here, we report the first application of the non-equilibrium self-consistent generalized Langevin equation theory to the description of the dynamical arrest processes that occur in SALR systems after being instantaneously quenched into a state point in the regions of thermodynamic instability. The physical scenario predicted by this theory reveals an amazing interplay between the thermodynamically driven instabilities, favoring equilibrium macro- and micro-phase separation, and the kinetic arrest mechanisms, favoring non-equilibrium amorphous solidification of the liquid into an unexpected variety of glass and gel states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Gabriela Carretas-Talamante
- Instituto de Física "Manuel Sandoval Vallarta," Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Álvaro Obregón 64, 78000 San Luis Potosí, Mexico
| | - Jesús Benigno Zepeda-López
- Instituto de Física "Manuel Sandoval Vallarta," Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Álvaro Obregón 64, 78000 San Luis Potosí, Mexico
| | - Edilio Lázaro-Lázaro
- Instituto de Física "Manuel Sandoval Vallarta," Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Álvaro Obregón 64, 78000 San Luis Potosí, Mexico
| | | | - Magdaleno Medina-Noyola
- Instituto de Física "Manuel Sandoval Vallarta," Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Álvaro Obregón 64, 78000 San Luis Potosí, Mexico
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2
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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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3
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Li YI, Cates ME. Hierarchical microphase separation in non-conserved active mixtures. THE EUROPEAN PHYSICAL JOURNAL. E, SOFT MATTER 2021; 44:119. [PMID: 34580768 PMCID: PMC8476393 DOI: 10.1140/epje/s10189-021-00113-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2021] [Accepted: 08/18/2021] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Non-equilibrium phase separating systems with reactions, such as biomolecular condensates and bacteria colonies, can break time-reversal symmetry (TRS) in two distinct ways. Firstly, the conservative and non-conservative sectors of the dynamics can be governed by incompatible free energies; when both sectors are present, this is the leading-order TRS violation, captured in its simplest form by 'Model AB'. Second, the diffusive dynamics can break TRS in its own right. This happens only at higher order in the gradient expansion (but is the leading behaviour without reactions present) and is captured by 'Active Model B+' (AMB+). Each of the two mechanisms can lead to microphase separation, by quite different routes. Here we introduce Model AB+, for which both mechanisms are simultaneously present, and show that for slow reaction rates the system can undergo a new type of hierarchical microphase separation, which we call 'bubbly microphase separation'. In this state, small droplets of one fluid are continuously created and absorbed into large droplets, whose length-scales are controlled by the competing reactive and diffusive dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuting I Li
- DAMTP, Centre for Mathematical Sciences, University of Cambridge, Wilberforce Rd, Cambridge, CB3 0WA, UK.
| | - Michael E Cates
- DAMTP, Centre for Mathematical Sciences, University of Cambridge, Wilberforce Rd, Cambridge, CB3 0WA, UK
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4
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Charbonneau P, Tarzia M. Solution of disordered microphases in the Bethe approximation. J Chem Phys 2021; 155:024501. [PMID: 34266261 DOI: 10.1063/5.0052111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The periodic microphases that self-assemble in systems with competing short-range attractive and long-range repulsive (SALR) interactions are structurally both rich and elegant. Significant theoretical and computational efforts have thus been dedicated to untangling their properties. By contrast, disordered microphases, which are structurally just as rich but nowhere near as elegant, have not been as carefully considered. Part of the difficulty is that simple mean-field descriptions make a homogeneity assumption that washes away all of their structural features. Here, we study disordered microphases by exactly solving a SALR model on the Bethe lattice. By sidestepping the homogenization assumption, this treatment recapitulates many of the key structural regimes of disordered microphases, including particle and void cluster fluids as well as gelation. This analysis also provides physical insight into the relationship between various structural and thermal observables, between criticality and physical percolation, and between glassiness and microphase ordering.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Marco Tarzia
- LPTMC, CNRS-UMR 7600, Sorbonne Université, 4 Place Jussieu, F-75005 Paris, France
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5
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Bretonnet JL, Bomont JM, Costa D. A semianalytical “reverse” approach to link structure and microscopic interactions in two-Yukawa competing fluids. J Chem Phys 2018; 149:234907. [DOI: 10.1063/1.5047448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Louis Bretonnet
- Université de Lorraine, LCP-A2MC, EA 3469, 1 Bd. François Arago, Metz F-57078, France
| | - Jean-Marc Bomont
- Université de Lorraine, LCP-A2MC, EA 3469, 1 Bd. 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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6
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Royall CP. Hunting mermaids in real space: known knowns, known unknowns and unknown unknowns. SOFT MATTER 2018; 14:4020-4028. [PMID: 29767188 DOI: 10.1039/c8sm00400e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
We review efforts to realise so-called mermaid (or short-ranged attraction/long ranged repulsion) interactions in 3d real space. The repulsive and attractive contributions to these interactions in charged colloids and colloid-polymer mixtures, may be accurately realised, by comparing particle-resolved studies with colloids to computer simulation. However, when we review work where these interactions have been combined, despite early indications of behaviour consistent with predictions, closer analysis reveals that in the non-aqueous systems used for particle-resolved studies, the idea of summing the attractive and repulsive components leads to wild deviations with experiment. We suggest that the origin lies in the weak ion dissociation in these systems with low dielectric constant solvents. Ultimately this leads even to non-centro-symmetric interactions and a new level of complexity in these systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Patrick Royall
- School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TS, UK.
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7
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Hu Y, Charbonneau P. Clustering and assembly dynamics of a one-dimensional microphase former. SOFT MATTER 2018; 14:4101-4109. [PMID: 29578236 DOI: 10.1039/c8sm00315g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Both ordered and disordered microphases ubiquitously form in suspensions of particles that interact through competing short-range attraction and long-range repulsion (SALR). While ordered microphases are more appealing materials targets, understanding the rich structural and dynamical properties of their disordered counterparts is essential to controlling their mesoscale assembly. Here, we study the disordered regime of a one-dimensional (1D) SALR model, whose simplicity enables detailed analysis by transfer matrices and Monte Carlo simulations. We first characterize the signature of the clustering process on macroscopic observables, and then assess the equilibration dynamics of various simulation algorithms. We notably find that cluster moves markedly accelerate the mixing time, but that event chains are of limited help in the clustering regime. These insights will inspire further study of three-dimensional microphase formers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Hu
- Department of Chemistry, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA.
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8
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Zhuang Y, Charbonneau P. Communication: Microphase equilibrium and assembly dynamics. J Chem Phys 2017; 147:091102. [DOI: 10.1063/1.4996904] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Yuan Zhuang
- Department of Chemistry, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
| | - Patrick Charbonneau
- Department of Chemistry, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
- Department of Physics, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
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9
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Zhuang Y, Charbonneau P. Recent Advances in the Theory and Simulation of Model Colloidal Microphase Formers. J Phys Chem B 2016; 120:7775-82. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.6b05471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yuan Zhuang
- Department
of Chemistry, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, United States
| | - Patrick Charbonneau
- Department
of Chemistry, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, United States
- Department
of Physics, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, United States
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10
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Zhuang Y, Charbonneau P. Equilibrium Phase Behavior of the Square-Well Linear Microphase-Forming Model. J Phys Chem B 2016; 120:6178-88. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.6b02167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yuan Zhuang
- Department of Chemistry, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, United States
| | - Patrick Charbonneau
- Department of Chemistry, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, United States
- Department
of Physics, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, United States
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11
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Zhuang Y, Zhang K, Charbonneau P. Equilibrium Phase Behavior of a Continuous-Space Microphase Former. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2016; 116:098301. [PMID: 26991204 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.116.098301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Periodic microphases universally emerge in systems for which short-range interparticle attraction is frustrated by long-range repulsion. The morphological richness of these phases makes them desirable material targets, but our relatively coarse understanding of even simple models hinders controlling their assembly. We report here the solution of the equilibrium phase behavior of a microscopic microphase former through specialized Monte Carlo simulations. The results for cluster crystal, cylindrical, double gyroid, and lamellar ordering qualitatively agree with a Landau-type free energy description and reveal the nontrivial interplay between cluster, gel, and microphase formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan Zhuang
- Department of Chemistry, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
| | - Kai Zhang
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, USA
| | - Patrick Charbonneau
- Department of Chemistry, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
- Department of Physics, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
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12
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Benzi R, Sbragaglia M, Bernaschi M, Succi S, Toschi F. Cooperativity flows and shear-bandings: a statistical field theory approach. SOFT MATTER 2016; 12:514-530. [PMID: 26486875 DOI: 10.1039/c5sm01862e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Cooperativity effects have been proposed to explain the non-local rheology in the dynamics of soft jammed systems. Based on the analysis of the free-energy model proposed by L. Bocquet, A. Colin and A. Ajdari, Phys. Rev. Lett., 2009, 103, 036001, we show that cooperativity effects resulting from the non-local nature of the fluidity (inverse viscosity) are intimately related to the emergence of shear-banding configurations. This connection materializes through the onset of inhomogeneous compact solutions (compactons), wherein the fluidity is confined to finite-support subregions of the flow and strictly zero elsewhere. The compacton coexistence with regions of zero fluidity ("non-flowing vacuum") is shown to be stabilized by the presence of mechanical noise, which ultimately shapes up the equilibrium distribution of the fluidity field, the latter acting as an order parameter for the flow-noflow transitions occurring in the material.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Benzi
- Department of Physics and INFN, University of "Tor Vergata", Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133 Rome, Italy.
| | - M Sbragaglia
- Department of Physics and INFN, University of "Tor Vergata", Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133 Rome, Italy.
| | - M Bernaschi
- Istituto per le Applicazioni del Calcolo CNR, Via dei Taurini 19, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - S Succi
- Istituto per le Applicazioni del Calcolo CNR, Via dei Taurini 19, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - F Toschi
- Istituto per le Applicazioni del Calcolo CNR, Via dei Taurini 19, 00185 Rome, Italy and Department of Physics and Department of Mathematics and Computer Science and J. M. Burgerscentrum, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB, Eindhoven, Netherlands
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13
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Chacko B, Chalmers C, Archer AJ. Two-dimensional colloidal fluids exhibiting pattern formation. J Chem Phys 2015; 143:244904. [DOI: 10.1063/1.4937941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Blesson Chacko
- Department of Mathematical Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 3TU, United Kingdom
| | - Christopher Chalmers
- Department of Mathematical Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 3TU, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew J. Archer
- Department of Mathematical Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 3TU, United Kingdom
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14
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Cigala G, Costa D, Bomont JM, Caccamo C. Aggregate formation in a model fluid with microscopic piecewise-continuous competing interactions. Mol Phys 2015. [DOI: 10.1080/00268976.2015.1078006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- G. Cigala
- Dipartimento di Fisica e di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Messina Viale , Messina, Italy
| | - D. Costa
- Dipartimento di Fisica e di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Messina Viale , Messina, Italy
| | | | - C. Caccamo
- Dipartimento di Fisica e di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Messina Viale , Messina, Italy
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15
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Zhang TH, Kuipers BWM, Tian WD, Groenewold J, Kegel WK. Polydispersity and gelation in concentrated colloids with competing interactions. SOFT MATTER 2015; 11:297-302. [PMID: 25407503 DOI: 10.1039/c4sm02273d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
In colloids with competing short-range attractions and long-range repulsions, microcrystalline gels are experimentally formed under conditions where computer simulations point to a lamellar phase as the ground state. Here, upon applying a low-frequency alternating electric field, we bring the system from an initial gel state to a columnar-like state. While molecular dynamics simulations on monodisperse colloids reveal that a columnar structure spontaneously evolves towards a lamellar phase, the columnar-like state in experiments relaxes back to the initial disordered gel state once the electric field is switched off. Similarly, a columnar phase in molecular dynamics simulations decomposes into finite-size crystalline clusters as the relative polydispersity of the colloids is around 1.0%. We conclude that the experimentally observed melting of the columnar structure is driven by polydispersity. Moreover, further simulations reveal that the critical polydispersity required to destabilize a long-range ordered structure increases with the attraction range, pointing to the possibility of observing periodic structures in experiments if the attraction range is sufficiently long compared to the polydispersity of the colloids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tian Hui Zhang
- Center for Soft Condensed Matter Physics and Interdisciplinary Research, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006, P. R. China.
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16
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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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17
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Ioannidou K, Pellenq RJM, Del Gado E. Controlling local packing and growth in calcium-silicate-hydrate gels. SOFT MATTER 2014; 10:1121-33. [PMID: 24652466 DOI: 10.1039/c3sm52232f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
We investigate the development of gels under out-of-equilibrium conditions, such as calcium-silicate-hydrate (C-S-H) gels that form during cement hydration and are the major factor responsible for cement mechanical strength. We propose a new model and numerical approach to follow the gel formation upon precipitation and aggregation of nano-scale colloidal hydrates, whose effective interactions are consistent with forces measured in experiments at fixed lime concentrations. We use Grand Canonical Monte Carlo to mimic precipitation events during Molecular Dynamics simulations, with their rate corresponding to the hydrate production rate set by the chemical environment. Our results display hydrate precipitation curves that indeed reproduce the acceleration and deceleration regime typically observed in experiments and we are able to correctly capture the effect of lime concentration on the hydration kinetics and the gel morphology. Our analysis of the evolution of the gel morphology indicates that the acceleration is related to the formation of an optimal local crystalline packing that allows for large, elongated aggregates to grow and that is controlled by the underlying thermodynamics. The defects produced during precipitation favor branching and gelation that end up controlling the deceleration. The effects on the mechanical properties of C-S-H gels are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katerina Ioannidou
- ETH Zurich, Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
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18
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Royall CP, Malins A. The role of quench rate in colloidal gels. Faraday Discuss 2012; 158:301-11; discussion 351-70. [DOI: 10.1039/c2fd20041d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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19
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Costa D, Caccamo C, Bomont JM, Bretonnet JL. Theoretical description of cluster formation in two-Yukawa competing fluids. Mol Phys 2011. [DOI: 10.1080/00268976.2011.611480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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20
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Coniglio A, de Candia A, Fierro A. Modulated phases and structural arrest in colloidal systems with competing interactions. Mol Phys 2011. [DOI: 10.1080/00268976.2011.624556] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/15/2022]
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21
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Russo J, Tartaglia P, Sciortino F. Reversible gels of patchy particles: role of the valence. J Chem Phys 2009; 131:014504. [PMID: 19586107 DOI: 10.1063/1.3153843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 110] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
We simulate a binary mixture of colloidal patchy particles with two and three patches, respectively, for several relative concentrations and hence relative average valences. For these limited-valence systems, it is possible to reach low temperatures, where the lifetime of the patch-patch interactions becomes longer than the observation time without encountering phase separation in a colloid-poor (gas) and a colloid rich (liquid) phase. The resulting arrested state is a fully connected long-lived network where particles with three patches provide the branching points connecting chains of two-patch particles. We investigate the effect of the valence on the structural and dynamic properties of the resulting gel and attempt to provide a theoretical description of the formation and of the resulting gel structure based on a combination of the Wertheim theory for associated liquids and the Flory-Stockmayer approach for modeling chemical gelation.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Russo
- Dipartimento di Fisica and INFM-CNR-SOFT, Università di Roma La Sapienza, Piazzale A. Moro 2, 00185 Roma, Italy.
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22
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Ferraro T, Coniglio A, Zannetti M. Self-tuning phase separation in a model with competing interactions inspired by biological cell polarization. PHYSICAL REVIEW. E, STATISTICAL, NONLINEAR, AND SOFT MATTER PHYSICS 2009; 79:031125. [PMID: 19391920 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.79.031125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2008] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
We present a theoretical study of a system with competing short-range ferromagnetic attraction and a long-range antiferromagnetic repulsion, in the presence of a uniform external magnetic field. The interplay between these interactions, at sufficiently low temperature, leads to the self-tuning of the magnetization to a value which triggers phase coexistence, even in the presence of the external field. The investigation of this phenomenon is performed using a Ginzburg-Landau functional in the limit of an infinite number of order parameter components (large N model). The scalar version of the model is expected to describe the phase separation taking place on a cell surface when this is immersed in a uniform concentration of chemical stimulant. A phase diagram is obtained as a function of the external field and the intensity of the long-range repulsion. The time evolution of the order parameter and of the structure factor in a relaxation process is studied in different regions of the phase diagram.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Ferraro
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, Università di Napoli Federico II, Complesso Universitario di Monte Sant'Angelo, via Cintia 80126 Napoli, Italy.
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23
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Archer AJ. Two-dimensional fluid with competing interactions exhibiting microphase separation: theory for bulk and interfacial properties. PHYSICAL REVIEW. E, STATISTICAL, NONLINEAR, AND SOFT MATTER PHYSICS 2008; 78:031402. [PMID: 18851033 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.78.031402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2008] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Colloidal particles that are confined to an interface such as the air-water interface are an example of a two-dimensional fluid. Such dispersions have been observed to spontaneously form cluster and stripe morphologies in certain systems with isotropic pair potentials between the particles, due to the fact that the pair interaction between the colloids has competing attraction and repulsion over different length scales. Here we present a simple density functional theory for a model of such a two-dimensional fluid. The theory predicts a bulk phase diagram exhibiting cluster, stripe, and bubble modulated phases, in addition to homogeneous fluid phases. Comparing with simulation results for this model from the literature, we find that the theory is qualitatively reliable. The model allows for a detailed investigation of the structure of the fluid and we are able to obtain simple approximate expressions for the static structure factor and for the length scale characterizing the modulations in the microphase separated phases. We also investigate the behavior of the system under confinement between two parallel hard walls. We find that the confined fluid phase behavior can be rather complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew J Archer
- Department of Mathematical Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 3TU, United Kingdom
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Imperio A, Reatto L, Zapperi S. Rheology of colloidal microphases in a model with competing interactions. PHYSICAL REVIEW. E, STATISTICAL, NONLINEAR, AND SOFT MATTER PHYSICS 2008; 78:021402. [PMID: 18850831 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.78.021402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2008] [Revised: 05/23/2008] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
We study the rheological properties of colloidal microphases in two dimensions simulating a model of colloidal particles with competing interactions. Due to the competition between short-range attraction and long-range repulsion, as a function of the density the model exhibits a variety of microphases such as clusters, stripes, or crystals with bubbles. We prepare the system in a confined microphase employing Monte Carlo simulations and then shear the resulting configurations by applying a drag force profile. We integrate numerically the equation of motion for the particles and analyze the dynamics as a function of the density and the applied strain rate. We measure the stress-strain curves and characterize the yielding of the colloidal microphases. The results depend on the type of microphase. (i) Clusters are easily sheared along layers and the relative motion is assisted by rotations. (ii) Stripes shear easily when they are parallel to the flow and tend to jam when they are perpendicular to it. Under a sufficiently strong shear rate perpendicular stripes orient in the flow direction. (iii) Crystals with bubbles yield by fracturing along the bubbles and eventually forming stripes. We discuss the role of dislocations, emitted by the bubbles, in the yielding process. Finally, we analyze the effect of thermal fluctuations on the rheological properties.
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Archer AJ, Wilding NB. Phase behavior of a fluid with competing attractive and repulsive interactions. PHYSICAL REVIEW. E, STATISTICAL, NONLINEAR, AND SOFT MATTER PHYSICS 2007; 76:031501. [PMID: 17930245 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.76.031501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 139] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2007] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Fluids in which the interparticle potential has a hard core, is attractive at moderate separations, and repulsive at large separations are known to exhibit unusual phase behavior, including stable inhomogeneous phases. Here we report a joint simulation and theoretical study of such a fluid, focusing on the relationship between the liquid-vapor transition line and any new phases. The phase diagram is studied as a function of the amplitude of the attraction for a certain fixed amplitude of the long ranged repulsion. We find that the effect of the repulsion is to substitute the liquid-vapor critical point and a portion of the associated liquid-vapor transition line, by two first-order transitions. One of these transitions separates the vapor from a fluid of spherical liquidlike clusters; the other separates the liquid from a fluid of spherical voids. At low temperature, the two transition lines intersect one another and a vapor-liquid transition line at a triple point. While most integral equation theories are unable to describe the new phase transitions, the Percus-Yevick approximation does succeed in capturing the vapor-cluster transition, as well as aspects of the structure of the cluster fluid, in reasonable agreement with the simulation results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew J Archer
- Department of Mathematical Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, United Kingdom
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