Related papers: Short and soft: multi-domain organization, tunable…
Curved particles have been shown to stabilize a range of states with unique order in dense suspensions of colloidal bent core liquid crystals. The shape of the colloidal rods encourages the formation of curved director fields. However,…
Concentrated colloidal suspensions of nanorods often exhibit liquid-crystalline (LC) behavior. The transition to a nematic LC phase, with long-range orientational order of the particles, is usually well captured by Onsager's theory for hard…
We explore the glassy dynamics of soft colloids using microgels and charged particles interacting by steric and screened Coulomb interactions, respectively. In the supercooled regime, the structural relaxation time $\tau_\alpha$ of both…
We study the phase ordering dynamics of a two dimensional model colloidal solid using molecular dynamics simulations. The colloid particles interact with each other with a Hamaker potential modified by the presence of equatorial "patches"…
Control of physical behaviors of nematic colloids and colloidal crystals has been demonstrated by tuning particle shape, topology, chirality and surface charging. However, the capability of altering physical behaviors of such soft matter…
Concentrated colloidal suspensions are a well-tested model system which has a glass transition. Colloids are suspensions of small solid particles in a liquid, and exhibit glassy behavior when the particle concentration is high; the…
Concentrated suspensions of small ultra-soft colloids (ultra-low crosslinked microgels) are investigated with scattering and steady shear rheology to capture their equilibrium dynamics. The suspensions lack dynamic arrest, although the slow…
Recent theories predict that when a supercooled liquid approaches the glass transition, particle clusters with a special "amorphous order" nucleate within the liquid, which lead to static correlations dictating the dramatic slowdown of…
Using simulations we identify three dynamic regimes in supersaturated isotropic fluid states of short hard rods: (i) for moderate supersaturations we observe nucleation of multi-layered crystalline clusters; (ii) at higher supersaturation,…
Charged colloids can form ordered structures like Wigner crystals or glasses at very low concentrations due to long-range electrostatic repulsions. Here, we combine small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) and optical experiments with…
We poorly understand the properties of amorphous systems at small length scales, where a continuous elastic description breaks down. This is apparent when one considers their vibrational and transport properties, or the way forces propagate…
We report filling-fraction dependent dielectric spectroscopy measurements on the relaxation dynamics of the rod-like nematogen 7CB condensed in 13 nm silica nanochannels. In the film-condensed regime, a slow interface relaxation dominates…
Understanding the relaxation dynamics of colloidal suspensions is crucial to identify the elements that influence the mobility of their constituents, assess their macroscopic response across the relevant time and length scales, and thus…
We study the responses of fluid-immersed soft hydrogel spheres that are sheared under controlled volume fractions. Slippery, deformable particles along with the density-matched interstitial fluid are sandwiched between two opposing rough…
Understanding how colloidal suspensions behave in confined environments has a striking relevance in practical applications. Despite the fact that the behaviour of colloids in the bulk is key to identify the main elements affecting their…
As the glass (in molecular fluids\cite{Donth}) or the jamming (in colloids and grains\cite{LiuNature1998}) transitions are approached, the dynamics slow down dramatically with no marked structural changes. Dynamical heterogeneity (DH) plays…
Fe-based metallic glasses are promising functional materials for advanced magnetism and sensor fields. Tailoring magnetic performance in amorphous materials requires a thorough knowledge of the correlation between structural disorder and…
The effect of short chain grafting on the liquid crystalline (LC) ordering of nano-crystals is investigated using molecular dynamics simulations of a coarse-grained grafted nano-rod model. Monodisperse nano-rods, with aspect ratios typical…
Solids deform and fluids flow, but soft glassy materials, such as emulsions, foams, suspensions, and pastes, exhibit an intricate mix of solid and liquid-like behavior. While much progress has been made to understand their elastic (small…
Orientational and positional ordering properties of liquid crystal monolayers are examined by means of Fundamental-Measure Density Functional Theory. Particles forming the monolayer are modeled as hard parallelepipeds of square section of…