Posted by iacovecr on Monday, October 31, 2011 in Recent Publications.

Citation:

Iacovella CR, Keys AS, Horsch MA, Glotzer SC, (2007) Icosahedral packing of polymer-tethered nanospheres and stabilization of the gyroid phase, Physical Review E (Rapid Communication), 75, pp 040801(R)

Vir. J. Nan. Sci. & Tech. / Volume 15 / Issue 17 / SUPRAMOLECULAR AND BIOCHEMICAL ASSEMBLY

DOI:10.1103/PhysRevE.75.040801
arXiv:cond-mat/0702224v2

Abstract:

We present results of simulations that predict the phases formed by the self-assembly of model nanospheres functionalized with a single polymer “tether,” including double gyroid, perforated lamella, and crystalline bilayer phases. We show that microphase separation of the immiscible tethers and nanospheres causes confinement of the nanoparticles, which promotes local icosahedral packing that in turn stabilizes the gyroid. We present a new metric for determining the local arrangement of particles based on spherical harmonic “fingerprints,” which we use to quantify the extent of icosahedral ordering.

Tags: Amphiphile, Gyroid, Order Parameter, Phase Separation, Polytetrahedra, Self-assembly, Tethered Nanoparticle