Related papers: Shape Selection in Nanopillar Formation
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…
We address the question of why larger, high symmetry crystals are mostly weak, ductile and statistically sub-critical, while smaller crystals with the same symmetry are strong, brittle and super-critical. We link it to another question of…
The geometric shape, symmetry, and topology of colloidal particles often allow for controlling colloidal phase behavior and physical properties of these soft matter systems. In liquid crystalline dispersions, colloidal particles with low…
Recent direct measurements of the growth kinetics of individual carbon nanotubes revealed abrupt changes in the growth rate of nanotubes maintaining the same crystal structure. These stochastic switches call into question the possibility of…
We describe a comprehensive model for the formation and morphological development of atmospheric ice crystals growing from water vapor, also known as snow crystals. Our model derives in part from empirical measurements of the intrinsic ice…
We predict an optical curtain effect, i.e., formation of a spatially invariant light field as light emerges from a set of periodic metallic nano-objects. The underlying physical mechanism of generation of this unique optical curtain can be…
Pattern formation in uniaxial polymeric liquid crystals is studied for different dynamic closure approximations. Using the principles of mesoscopic non-equilibrium thermodynamics in a mean-field approach, we derive a Fokker-Planck equation…
The assembly of nanometer-sized building blocks into complex morphologies is not only of fundamental interest but also plays a key role in material science and nanotechnology. We show that the shape of self-assembled superstructures formed…
The ability of thin materials to shape-shift is a common occurrence that leads to dynamic pattern formation and function in natural and man-made structures. However, harnessing this concept to design inorganic structures at the nanoscale…
We report the results of computer simulations of epitaxial growth in the presence of a large Schwoebel barrier on different crystal surfaces: simple cubic(001), bcc(001), simple hexagonal(001) and hcp(001). We find, that mounds coarse by a…
We investigate the growth of a crystal that is built by depositing cubes onto the inside of a corner. The interface of this crystal evolves into a limiting shape in the long-time limit. Building on known results for the corresponding…
Organic capping ligands can selectively bind to crystal facets to modulate growth kinetics and are important in chemical synthesis of inorganic nanocrystals. Using the capping ligands for shape-controlled growth of colloidal crystals is…
The displacement of a fluid by another less viscous one in a quasi-two dimensional geometry typically leads to complex fingering patterns. In an isotropic system, dense-branching growth arises, which is characterized by repeated…
Chemical transformations, such as ion exchange, are commonly employed to modify nanocrystal compositions. Yet the mechanisms of these transformations, which often operate far from equilibrium and entail mixing diverse chemical species,…
Liquid crystals are assemblies of rod-like molecules which self-organize to form mesophases, in-between ordinary liquids and anisotropic crystals. At each point, the molecules collectively orient themselves along a privileged direction,…
We describe a numerical model of faceted crystal growth using a cellular automata method that incorporates admolecule diffusion on faceted surfaces in addition to bulk diffusion in the medium surrounding the crystal. The model was developed…
Geometrical constructions, such as the tangent construction on the molar free energy for determining whether a particular composition of a solution, is stable, are related to similar tangent constructions on the orientation-dependent…
Recent advances in classical density functional theory are combined with stochastic process theory and rare event techniques to formulate a theoretical description of nucleation, including crystallization, that can predict nonclassical…
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 used nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations to study the shear deformation of metallic composites composed of alternating layers of Cu and Au. Our simulations reveal the formation of "vortices" or "swirls" if the bimaterial…