Emergence of Disordered Hyperuniformity in Melts of Linear Diblock Copolymers

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Chen, Duyu, Klatt, Michael A., Fredrickson, Glenn H.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2023
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author Chen, Duyu
Klatt, Michael A.
Fredrickson, Glenn H.
author_facet Chen, Duyu
Klatt, Michael A.
Fredrickson, Glenn H.
contents Disordered hyperuniform (DHU) systems are recently discovered exotic states of matter, where (normalized) large-scale density fluctuations are completely suppressed as in crystals, even though the systems are isotropic and lack conventional long-range order. Despite recent success, realizing such systems using bottom-up approaches remains challenging. Here, we study the large-scale behavior of neat melts of linear diblock copolymers using large-cell self-consistent field theory (SCFT) simulations. We initialize SCFT simulations using point patterns that correspond to the local energy minimum of the so-called Quantizer energy, a geometric functional related to the free energy of copolymeric self-assemblies. Upon relaxation via the SCFT simulations, we obtain a new class of metastable disordered micelle mesophases that are hyperuniform. Moreover, we find that DHU micelle mesophases possess very similar free energies to the thermodynamically stable body-centered cubic sphere mesophases and are also much more favorable energetically than previously obtained liquid-like packings. Our findings shed light on the design of novel disordered hyperuniform materials using bottom-up approaches, and suggest new possibilities for technological applications, e.g., novel non-iridescent structural colors.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2312_08541
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Emergence of Disordered Hyperuniformity in Melts of Linear Diblock Copolymers
Chen, Duyu
Klatt, Michael A.
Fredrickson, Glenn H.
Soft Condensed Matter
Statistical Mechanics
Disordered hyperuniform (DHU) systems are recently discovered exotic states of matter, where (normalized) large-scale density fluctuations are completely suppressed as in crystals, even though the systems are isotropic and lack conventional long-range order. Despite recent success, realizing such systems using bottom-up approaches remains challenging. Here, we study the large-scale behavior of neat melts of linear diblock copolymers using large-cell self-consistent field theory (SCFT) simulations. We initialize SCFT simulations using point patterns that correspond to the local energy minimum of the so-called Quantizer energy, a geometric functional related to the free energy of copolymeric self-assemblies. Upon relaxation via the SCFT simulations, we obtain a new class of metastable disordered micelle mesophases that are hyperuniform. Moreover, we find that DHU micelle mesophases possess very similar free energies to the thermodynamically stable body-centered cubic sphere mesophases and are also much more favorable energetically than previously obtained liquid-like packings. Our findings shed light on the design of novel disordered hyperuniform materials using bottom-up approaches, and suggest new possibilities for technological applications, e.g., novel non-iridescent structural colors.
title Emergence of Disordered Hyperuniformity in Melts of Linear Diblock Copolymers
topic Soft Condensed Matter
Statistical Mechanics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.08541