Related papers: Composition Heterogeneity Induced Crystallization …
By taking advantage of the molecular weight dependence of the glass transition of polymers and their ability to form perfectly miscible blends, we propose a way to modify the fragility of a system, from fragile to strong, keeping the same…
Isomerization, i.e. the rearrangement between distinct molecular configurations, is a fundamental process in chemistry. Here we demonstrate that two-dimensional Coulomb crystals can emulate molecular isomerization and be used to…
The self-assembly of binary nanoparticle superlattices from colloidal mixtures is a promising method for the fabrication of complex colloidal co-crystal structures. However, binary mixtures often form amorphous or metastable phases instead…
We report the experimental observation of a square crystalline phase in a vibrated binary mixture of spherical grains. This structure spontaneously forms from a disordered state, consistently with predictions obtained in an equilibrium…
We investigate two-dimensional crystal assemblies formed by a binary mixture of colloidal particles with a size ratio of 0.88 and driven by short-ranged depletion interactions. Our experiments show that the orientational order of the…
Using molecular dynamics simulations of a tangent-soft-sphere bead-spring polymer model, we examine the degree to which semiflexible polymer melts solidify at isostaticity. Flexible and stiff chains crystallize when they are isostatic as…
Using Brownian dynamics computer simulations we show that a two-dimensional suspension of self-propelled ("active") colloidal particles crystallizes at sufficiently high densities. Compared to the equilibrium freezing of passive particles…
Using molecular dynamics simulations, we investigate the crystallization pathways of two exemplary systems that form the same complex crystal structure but differ fundamentally in the nature of their particle interactions. One system is…
We introduce a novel coarse-grained bead-spring model for flexible polymers to systematically examine the effects of an adjusted bonded potential on the formation and stability of structural macrostates in a thermal environment. The density…
Polymeric particles are strong candidates for designing artificial materials capable of emulating the complex twisting-based functionality observed in biological systems. In this letter, we provide the first detailed investigation of the…
Systems containing active components are intrinsically out of equilibrium, while binary mixtures reach their equilibrium configuration when complete phase separation is achieved. Active particles are found to stabilise non-equilibrium…
Semi-crystalline polymers have been shown to have greatly increased thermal conductivity compared to amorphous bulk polymers due to effective heat conduction along the covalent bonds of the backbone. However, the mechanisms governing the…
A coarsened model for a binary system with limited miscibility of components is proposed; the system is described in terms of structural states in small parts of the material. The material is assumed to have two alternative types of…
Particle systems interacting with a soft repulsion, at thermal equilibrium and under some circumstances, are known to form cluster crystals, i.e. periodic arrangements of particle aggregates. We study here how these states are modified by…
The presence of nanoparticles in a diblock copolymer leads to changes in the morphology and properties of the matrix and can produce highly organized hybrid materials. The resulting material properties depend not only on the polymer…
Recent experiments in some polymer melts quenched below the melting temperature have reported spinodal kinetics in small-angle X ray scattering before the emergence of crystalline structure. To explain these observations we propose that the…
A model for a monolayer of two types of particles spontaneously forming ordered patterns is studied by a mesoscopic theory and by MC simulations. We assume hard-cores of the same size for both components, short-range attraction long-range…
Natural materials often feature a combination of soft and stiff phases, arranged to achieve excellent mechanical properties, such as high strength and toughness. Many natural materials have even independently evolved to have similar…
Computer simulation studies on the miscibility behavior and single chain properties in binary polymer blends are reviewed. We consider blends of various architectures in order to identify important architectural parameters on a coarse…
We propose a highly coarse-grained simulation model for crystalline polymer solids with crystalline lamellar structures. The mechanical properties of a crystalline polymer solid are mainly determined by the crystalline lamellar structures.…