1 Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China; 2 Institute of Microscale Optoelectronics, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
Abstract We simulate the self-assembly of active colloidal molecules from binary mixtures of spherical particles using a Brownian dynamics algorithm. These particles interact via phoretic interactions, which are determined by two independently tunable parameters, surface activity and surface mobility. In systems composed of equal-size particles, we observe the formation of colloidal molecules with well-defined coordination numbers and spatial arrangement, which also display distinct dynamic functions, such as resting, translating, and rotating. By changing the size ratio to 2:1 between the two species, we further observe the formation of colloidal molecules with new structures arising from breaking the size symmetry. By tuning the mutual interactions between the smaller species via their surface mobility, we are able to control their spacing as well as the coordination number of the colloidal molecules. This study highlights the importance of tuning surface parameters and size asymmetry in controlling the structure and the active dynamics of colloidal molecules.
(Computer simulation of molecular and particle dynamics)
Fund: Project supported by the Innovation Program of Guangdong Provincial Department of Education, China (Grant No. 2019KTSCX148) and the Science and Technology Innovation Commission of Shenzhen (Grant No. JCYJ20170818141727254).
Lijie Lei(雷李杰), Shuo Wang(王硕), Xinyuan Zhang(张昕源), Wenjie Lai(赖文杰), Jinyu Wu(吴晋宇), and Yongxiang Gao(高永祥) Phoretic self-assembly of active colloidal molecules 2021 Chin. Phys. B 30 056112
[1] Blaaderen A V 2003 Science301 470 [2] Poon W 2004 Science304 830 [3] Löwen H 2018 Europhys. Lett.121 58001 [4] Gao Y, Mou F, Feng Y, Che S, Li W, Xu L and Guan J 2017 ACS Appl. Mater. Interf.9 22704 [5] Sánchez S, Soler L and Katuri J 2015 Angew. Chem., Int. Ed.54 1414 [6] Wang W, Duan W, Ahmed S, Mallouk T E and Sen A 2013 Nano Today8 531 [7] Malins A, Williams S R, Eggers J, Tanaka H and Royall C P 2009 J. Phys.: Condens. Matter21 425103 [8] Palagi S and Fischer P 2018 Nature Reviews Materials3 113 [9] Ozin G A, Manners I, Fournier-Bidoz S and Arsenault A 2005 Adv. Mater.17 3011 [10] Marchetti M C, Joanny J F, Ramaswamy S, Liverpool T B, Prost J, Rao M and Simha R A 2012 Rev. Mod. Phys.85 1143 [11] Timm U and Okubo A 1995 Bull. Math. Biol.57 631 [12] Ballerini M, Cabibbo N, Candelier R, Cavagna A, Cisbani E, Giardina I, Orlandi A, Parisi G, Procaccini A, Viale M and Zdravkovic V 2008 Anim. Behav.76 201 [13] Moussaid M, Garnier S, Theraulaz G and Helbing D 2009 Top. Cogn. Sci.1 469 [14] Rouet P E, Chomette C, Duguet E and Ravaine S 2018 Angew. Chem., Int. Ed.57 15754 [15] Duguet E, Désert A, Perro A and Ravaine S 2011 Chem. Soc. Rev.40 941 [16] Anderson J L 1989 Ann. Rev. Fluid Mech.21 61 [17] Abecassis B, Cottin-Bizonne C, Ybert C, Ajdari A and Bocquet L 2008 Nat. Mater.7 785 [18] Moran J L and Posner J D 2017 Annu. Rev. Fluid Mech.49 511 [19] Soto R and Golestanian R 2014 Phys. Rev. Lett.112 068301 [20] Golestanian R, Liverpool T B and Ajdari A 2007 New J. Phys.9 126 [21] Popescu M N, Tasinkevych M and Dietrich S 2011 Europhys. Lett.95 28004 [22] Sabass B and Seifert U 2010 Phys. Rev. Lett.105 218103 [23] Michelin S, Lauga E and Bartolo D 2013 Phys. Fluids25 061701 [24] Howse J R, Jones R A, Ryan A J, Gough T, Vafabakhsh R and Golestanian R 2007 Phys. Rev. Lett.99 048102 [25] Hong Y, Diaz M, Córdova-Figueroa U M and Sen A 2010 Adv. Funct. Mater.20 1568 [26] Gao W, Feng X, Pei A, Gu Y, Li J and Wang J 2013 Nanoscale5 4696 [27] Pavlick R A, Sengupta S, McFadden T, Zhang H and Sen A 2011 Angew. Chem., Int. Ed.50 9374 [28] Rapaport D C 2004 The Art of Molecular Dynamics Simulation, 2nd edn. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) p. 15 [29] Frenkel D and Smit B 1996 Understanding molecular simulation: from algorithms to applications, 2nd edn (Boston: Academic Press) p. 48
Altmetric calculates a score based on the online attention an article receives. Each coloured thread in the circle represents a different type of online attention. The number in the centre is the Altmetric score. Social media and mainstream news media are the main sources that calculate the score. Reference managers such as Mendeley are also tracked but do not contribute to the score. Older articles often score higher because they have had more time to get noticed. To account for this, Altmetric has included the context data for other articles of a similar age.
