Related papers: Understanding the Dynamics of Evaporation-Driven C…
We introduce a new dynamic light scattering method, termed photon correlation imaging, which enables us to resolve the dynamics of soft matter in space and time. We demonstrate photon correlation imaging by investigating the slow dynamics…
Spontaneous self-assembly in molecular systems is a fundamental route to both biological and engineered soft matter. Simple micellisation, emulsion formation, and polymer mixing principles are well understood. However, the principles behind…
Solvent evaporation in soft matter solutions (solutions of colloidal particles, polymers and their mixtures) is an important process in material making and in printing and coating industries. The solvent evaporation process determines the…
We investigate the formation of cluster crystals with multiply occupied lattice sites on a spherical surface in systems of ultra-soft particles interacting via repulsive, bounded pair potentials. Not all interactions of this kind lead to…
A series of simulations aimed at elucidating the self-assembly dynamics of spherical virus capsids is described. This little-understood phenomenon is a fascinating example of the complex processes that occur in the simplest of organisms.…
An efficient way to precisely pattern particles on solid surfaces is to dispense and evaporate colloidal drops, as for bioassays. The dried deposits often exhibit complex structures exemplified by the coffee ring pattern, where most…
Hypothesis: A broad range of phenomena, such as emulsification and emulsion stability, foam formation or liquid evaporation, are closely related to the dynamics of adsorbing colloidal particles. Elucidation of the mechanisms implied is key…
A simplified model is developed, which allows us to perform computer simulations of the particles transport in an evaporating droplet with a contact line pinned to a hydrophilic substrate. The model accounts for advection in the droplet,…
After rainfall, pine needles often float on the surface of small puddles. As the water evaporates, they self-assemble into distinct clusters. Motivated by this natural phenomenon, we experimentally investigate the dynamic evolution of…
Particles confined in droplets are called compound particles. They are encountered in various biological and soft matter systems. Hydrodynamics can play a decisive role in determining the configuration and stability of these multiphase…
The structure of a finite particle cluster is typically determined by total energy minimization. Here we consider the case where a cluster of soft sphere dipoles becomes active, i.e. when the individual particles exhibit an additional…
The influence of quadrupolar interactions on the structure of small clusters is investigated by adding a point quadrupole of variable strength to the Lennard-Jones potential. Competition arises between sheet-like arrangements of the…
We use x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy to investigate the dynamics of a high volume fraction emulsion creaming under gravity. The dodecane-in-water emulsion has interfaces stabilized solely by colloidal particles (silica). The samples…
Colloidal particles dispersed in liquid crystals can form new materials with tunable elastic and electro-optic properties. In a periodic `blue phase' host, particles should template into colloidal crystals with potential uses in photonics,…
We report on the formation of colloidal complexes resulting from the electrostatic self-assembly of polyelectrolyte-neutral block copolymers and oppositely charged surfactants. The copolymers investigated are asymmetric and characterized by…
Simple observations of evaporating solutions reveal a complex hierarchy of spatio-temporal instabilities. We analyze one such instability suggested by the qualitative observations of Du and Stone and find that it is driven by a novel…
It is shown that preferential concentrations of inertial (finite-size) particle suspensions in turbulent flows follow from the dissipative nature of their dynamics. In phase space, particle trajectories converge toward a dynamical fractal…
Opals are naturally occurring photonic crystals which can be formed easily using low-cost self-assembly methods. While the optical behaviour of opals has received significant attention over the last number of decades, there is limited…
In the field of freezing colloidal suspensions, it is important to understand the particle-scale behavior of particle packing. Here, we reveal the dynamics of particle packing by identifying the behavior of each single particle in situ. The…
The rapid progress in precisely designing the surface decoration of patchy colloidal particles offers a new, yet unexperienced freedom to create building entities for larger, more complex structures in soft matter systems. However, it is…