Related papers: Shape Selection in Synthesis of Colloids and Nanop…
We devise a method for designing materials that will have some desired structural characteristics. We apply it to multiblock copolymers that have two different types of monomers, A and B. We show how to determine what sequence of A's and…
In colloid and nanoparticle chemistry, particle size, shape, crystallinity, surface morphology and composition are controlled by employing the mechanisms of burst nucleation, diffusional growth, aggregation, or their combinations. Here we…
We investigate the effect of polymer length dispersity on the properties of self-assembled micelles in solution by self-consistent field calculations. Polydispersity stabilizes micelles by raising the free energy barriers of micelle…
The self-assembly of copolymeric vesicles and micelles in micromixers is studied by External Potential Dynamics (EPD) simulations -- a dynamic density functional approach that explicitly accounts for the polymer architecture both at the…
We demonstrate that nascent polymer crystals (i.e., nuclei) are anisotropic entities, with neither spherical nor cylindrical geometry, in contrast to previous assumptions. In fact, cylindrical, spherical, and other high symmetry geometries…
Shape-controlled synthesis of multiply twinned nanostructures is heavily emphasized in nanoscience, in large part due to the desire to control the size, shape, and terminating facets of metal nanoparticles for applications in catalysis.…
Designable media can control properties of nanocomposite materials by spatially organizing nanoparticles. Here we theoretically study particle organization by ultrathin polymer films of grafted chains (``brushes''). Polymer-soluble…
The ordering of block copolymers into lamellar microstructures is an attractive route for creating nanopatterns on scales too small to be constructed by current photolithography techniques. This utilises a technique known as graphoepitaxy…
We investigate analytically and numerically a system of clusters evolving via collisions with clusters of minimal mass (monomers). Each collision either leads to the addition of the monomer to the cluster or the chipping of a monomer from…
Many proposals have already been made for realizing programmable matter, ranging from shape-changing molecules, DNA tiles, and synthetic cells to reconfigurable modular robotics. Envisioning systems of nano-sensors devices, we are…
Most technical polymers and many biopolymers contain very different molecular species (unlike chain length, molecular architecture and/or chemical composition) in contrast to pure low molecular weight compounds. This inconsistent…
A machine learning approach is presented to accelerate the computation of block polymer morphology evolution for large domains over long timescales. The strategy exploits the separation of characteristic times between coarse-grained…
Ordering nanoparticles into a desired super-structure is often crucial for their technological applications. We use molecular dynamics simulations to study the assembly of nanoparticles in a polymer brush randomly grafted to a planar…
An important goal of self-assembly is to achieve a preprogrammed structure with high fidelity. Here, we control the valence of DNA-functionalized emulsions to make linear and branched model polymers, or `colloidomers'. The distribution of…
If a collection of identical particles is poured into a container, different shapes will fill to different densities. But what is the shape that fills a container as close as possible to a pre-specified, desired density? We demonstrate a…
Colloidal nanoplatelets - quasi-two-dimensional sheets of semiconductor exhibiting efficient, spectrally pure fluorescence - form when liquid-phase syntheses of spherical quantum dots are modified. Despite intense interest in their…
Colloids self-assemble into various organized superstructures determined by particle interactions. There is a tremendous progress in both the scientific understanding and applications of self-assemblies of single-type identical particles.…
Spherical particles confined to a sphere surface cannot pack densely into a hexagonal lattice without defects. In this study, we use hard particle Monte Carlo simulations to determine the effects of continuously deformable shape anisotropy…
Colloidal synthesis of nanocrystals usually includes complex chemical reactions and multi-step crystallization processes. Despite the great success in the past 30 years, it remains challenging to clarify the correlations between synthetic…
The kinetic paths of structural evolution and formation of block copolymer (BCP) particles are explored using dynamic self-consistent field theory (DSCFT). It is shown that the process-directed self-assembly of BCP immersed in a poor…