Related papers: Patterns without patches: Hierarchical assembly of…
Except for crystalline or random structures, an agreed definition of complexity for intermediate and hence interesting cases does not exist. We fill this gap with a notion of complexity that characterises shapes formed by any finite number…
Programmable assembly of nanoparticles into structures other than hexagonal lattices remains challenging. Assembling an open checkerboard or square lattice is harder to achieve compared to a close-packed hexagonal structure. Here, we…
Obtaining general relations between macroscopic properties of random assemblies, such as density, and the microscopic properties of their constituent particles, such as shape, is a foundational challenge in the study of amorphous materials.…
We study the packing fraction of clusters in free-falling streams of spherical and irregularly shaped particles using flash X-ray radiography. The estimated packing fraction of clusters is low enough to correspond to coordination numbers…
We present results from density functional theory and computer simulations that unambiguously predict the occurrence of first-order freezing transitions for a large class of ultrasoft model systems into cluster crystals. The clusters…
During the last 3 years, our group has investigated extensively the complexation mechanism between neutral-polyelectrolyte block copolymers with oppositely charged species. These species are surfactant micelles, multivalent counterions and…
We study computationally the local structure of aggregated systems of patchy particles. By calculating the probability distribution functions of various rotational invariants we can identify the precursors of orientation order in amorphous…
Both biological and artificial self-assembly processes can take place by a range of different schemes, from the successive addition of identical building blocks, to hierarchical sequences of intermediates, all the way to the fully…
Self-propelled particles can spontaneously form dense phases from a dilute suspension in a process referred to as motility-induced phase separation. The properties of the out-of-equilibrium structures that are formed are governed by the…
Hierarchically structured natural materials possess functionalities unattainable to the same components organized or mixed in simpler ways. For instance, the bones and teeth of mammals are far stronger and more durable than the mineral…
Addressable self-assembly is the formation of a target structure from a set of unique molecular or colloidal building-blocks, each of which occupies a defined location in the target. The requirement that each type of building-block appears…
We have examined the spatial distribution of substructure in clusters of galaxies using Einstein X-ray observations. Subclusters are found to have a markedly anisotropic distribution that reflects the surrounding matter distribution on…
In this work the systems composed of particles interacting with hard potential are investigated. These systems feature certain modifications to the crystal structure - selected particles are replaced with ones that differ slightly in their…
We describe a new generation of algorithms capable of mapping the structure and conformations of macromolecules and their complexes from large ensembles of heterogeneous snapshots, and demonstrate the feasibility of determining both…
Assembly of protein complexes like virus shells, the centriole, the nuclear pore complex or the actin cytoskeleton is strongly determined by their spatial structure. Moreover it is becoming increasingly clear that the reversible nature of…
Inverse Patchy Colloids (IPCs) differ from conventional patchy particles because their patches repel (rather than attract) each other and attract (rather than repel) the part of the colloidal surface that is free of patches. These…
Real complex systems are not rigidly structured; no clear rules or blueprints exist for their construction. Yet, amidst their apparent randomness, complex structural properties universally emerge. We propose that an important class of…
We prove that by successively combining subassemblies, we can achieve sublinear construction times for "staged" assembly of micro-scale objects from a large number of tiny particles, for vast classes of shapes; this is a significant advance…
Self-assembly materials are traditionally designed so that molecular or meso-scale components form a single kind of large structure. Here, we propose a scheme to create "multifarious assembly mixtures", which self-assemble many different…
Self-assembling novel ordered structures with nanoparticles has recently received much attention. Here we use computer simulations to study a two-dimensional model system characterized by a simple isotropic interaction that could be…