Self-assembly of anisotropic particles on curved surfaces

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Bordia, Gautam, Russell, Thomas P., Omar, Ahmad K.
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2025
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author Bordia, Gautam
Russell, Thomas P.
Omar, Ahmad K.
author_facet Bordia, Gautam
Russell, Thomas P.
Omar, Ahmad K.
contents The surface curvature of membranes, interfaces, and substrates plays a crucial role in shaping the self-assembly of particles adsorbed on these surfaces. However, little is known about the interplay between particle anisotropy and surface curvature and how they couple to alter the free energy landscape of particle assemblies. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we investigate the effect of prescribed curvatures on a quasi-2D assembly of anisotropic patchy particles. By varying curvature and surface coverage, we uncover a rich geometric phase diagram, with curvature inducing ordered structures entirely absent on planar surfaces. Large spatial domains of ordered structures can contain hidden microdomains of orientational textures imprinted by the surface on the assembly. The dynamical landscape is also reshaped by surface curvature, with a glass-like state emerging at modest densities and high curvature. Changes to the symmetry of the surface curvature are found to result in distinct structures, including phases with mesoscale ordering. Our findings show that the coupling between surface curvature and particle geometry opens an unexplored space of morphologies and structures that can be exploited for material design.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2502_15225
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Self-assembly of anisotropic particles on curved surfaces
Bordia, Gautam
Russell, Thomas P.
Omar, Ahmad K.
Soft Condensed Matter
The surface curvature of membranes, interfaces, and substrates plays a crucial role in shaping the self-assembly of particles adsorbed on these surfaces. However, little is known about the interplay between particle anisotropy and surface curvature and how they couple to alter the free energy landscape of particle assemblies. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we investigate the effect of prescribed curvatures on a quasi-2D assembly of anisotropic patchy particles. By varying curvature and surface coverage, we uncover a rich geometric phase diagram, with curvature inducing ordered structures entirely absent on planar surfaces. Large spatial domains of ordered structures can contain hidden microdomains of orientational textures imprinted by the surface on the assembly. The dynamical landscape is also reshaped by surface curvature, with a glass-like state emerging at modest densities and high curvature. Changes to the symmetry of the surface curvature are found to result in distinct structures, including phases with mesoscale ordering. Our findings show that the coupling between surface curvature and particle geometry opens an unexplored space of morphologies and structures that can be exploited for material design.
title Self-assembly of anisotropic particles on curved surfaces
topic Soft Condensed Matter
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.15225