Related papers: Self-assembly mechanism in colloids: perspectives …
A new theory is developed to describe the equilibrium adsorption and self-assembly of patchy colloids in microchannels. The adsorption theory is developed in classical density functional theory, with the adsorbed phase and fluid phase…
We report small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) experiments on aqueous dispersions of colloidal silica with a broad monomodal size distribution (polydispersity 18%, size 8 nm). Over a range of volume fractions the silica particles segregate…
Open structures can display a number of unusual properties, including a negative Poisson's ratio, negative thermal expansion, and holographic elasticity, and have many interesting applications in engineering. However, it is a grand…
We construct a mesoscale model of colloidal suspensions that contain solutes reversibly adsorbing onto the colloidal particle surfaces. The present model describes the coupled dynamics of the colloidal particles, the host fluid, and the…
Emergent phenomena share the fascinating property of not being obvious consequences of the design of the system in which they appear. This characteristic is no less relevant when attempting to simulate such phenomena, given that the outcome…
We apply a simple model system of patchy particles to study monodisperse self-assembly, using the Platonic solids as target structures. We find marked differences between the assembly behaviours of the different systems. Tetrahedra,…
The interaction between a flexible polymer in good solvent and smaller associating solute molecules such as amphiphiles (surfactants) is considered theoretically. Attractive correlations, induced in the polymer because of the interaction,…
We present a generic model to describe the fractal self-assembly of proteins in terms of electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions. The predictions of the model were correlated with the simulated fractals obtained using patchy…
We explore the self-assembly process of colloidal structures immersed in active baths. By considering low-valence particles we numerically investigate the irreversible aggregation dynamics originated by the presence of run-and-tumble…
Biological systems exploit self-assembly to create complex structures whose arrangements are finely controlled from molecular to mesoscopic level. Herein we report an example of using fully synthetic systems that mimic two levels of…
Molecular self-assembly on surfaces constitutes a powerful method for creating tailor-made surface structures with dedicated functionalities. Varying the intermolecular interactions allows for tuning the resulting molecular structures in a…
Fluids with spatial density variations of single or mixed molecules play a key role in biophysics, soft matter and materials science. The fluid structures usually form via spinodal decomposition or nucleation following an instantaneous…
In the self-assembly process which drives the formation of cellular membranes, micelles, and capsids, a collection of separated subunits spontaneously binds together to form functional and more ordered structures. In this work, we study the…
Soft materials can self-assemble into highly structured phases which replicate at the mesoscopic scale the symmetry of atomic crystals. As such, they offer an unparalleled platform to design mesostructured materials for light and sound.…
We calculate the configurational entropy of colloidal particles in a confined geometry interacting as hard disks using Monte Carlo integration method. In particular, we consider systems with three kinds of boundary conditions: hard,…
The molecular self-assembly of various structures such as micelles and vesicles has been the subject of comprehensive studies. Recently, a new approach to design these structures, the frame-guided assembly, has been developed to progress…
The formation of a viral capsid -- the highly-ordered protein shell that surrounds the genome of a virus -- is the canonical example of self-assembly. The capsids of many positive-sense RNA viruses spontaneously assemble from in vitro…
Curved structures in soft matter and biological systems commonly emerge as a result of self-assembly processes where building blocks aggregate in a controlled manner, giving rise to specific system structure and properties. Learning how to…
Self-assembly at submicroscopic scales is an important but little understood phenomenon. A prominent example is virus capsid growth, whose underlying behavior can be modeled using simple particles that assemble into polyhedral shells.…
If particles interact according to isotropic pair potentials that favor multiple length scales, in principle a large variety of different complex structures can be achieved by self-assembly. We present, motivate, and discuss a conjecture…