Article
Chemistry, Physical
Elena Sese-Sansa, Demian Levis, Ignacio Pagonabarraga
Summary: This article discusses a dynamical field theory for self-propelled particles subjected to generic torques and forces. By coarse-graining their microscopic dynamics, the study investigates the instabilities of macroscopic and finite structures, and the influence of intrinsic torques on phase separation and non-equilibrium patterns.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Lorenzo Caprini, Rahul Kumar Gupta, Hartmut Loewen
Summary: This study investigates the effect of rotational inertia on the collective phenomena of underdamped active systems. It shows that the increase of rotational inertia favors non-equilibrium phase coexistence and counteracts its suppression due to translational inertia. The correlation length of spatial velocity correlations in dense clusters is also found to increase with rotational inertia. The enhancement of rotational persistence due to rotational inertia is strongly linked to the occurrence of collective phenomena, such as motility induced phase separation and spatial velocity correlations.
PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Physics, Multidisciplinary
Jie Su, Huijun Jiang, Zhonghuai Hou
Summary: This study reveals a nucleation-like MIPS in overdamped systems, demonstrating a competition between activity-induced accumulation of particles and inertia-induced suppression of clustering. The discontinuity of MIPS persists even when inertia is very small, emphasizing the importance of inertia-induced kinetics in understanding the nature of MIPS in active systems.
NEW JOURNAL OF PHYSICS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jens Grauer, Falko Schmidt, Jesus Pineda, Benjamin Midtvedt, Hartmut Loewen, Giovanni Volpe, Benno Liebchen
Summary: Active matter can spontaneously form complex patterns and assemblies via a one-way energy flow from the environment into the system. The authors demonstrate that a two-way coupling, where active particles act back on the environment, can give rise to novel superstructures, named as active droploids.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Physics, Multidisciplinary
Bao-Quan Ai, Shan Quan, Feng-guo Li
Summary: The demixing and sorting strategies for chiral active mixtures are crucial to the biochemical and pharmaceutical industries. In this paper, the demixing behaviors of binary mixtures in a model of chiral active particles are investigated to understand the demixing mechanism of chiral active mixtures. It is found that chiral mixed particles can spontaneously demix in motility-induced phase separation (MIPS), and the hidden velocity alignment in MIPS facilitates the separation by allowing particles of different types to accumulate in different clusters. The findings are important for understanding the demixing mechanism of chiral active mixtures and can be applied to future experiments.
NEW JOURNAL OF PHYSICS
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Marco Riccardi, Olivier J. F. Martin
Summary: Electromagnetic forces and torques play a crucial role in technologies like optical tweezers and dielectrophoresis, as they rely on the interaction between an oscillating electric field and matter particles. This study offers a unified framework for understanding this interaction at both low-frequency (dielectrophoresis) and high-frequency (optical tweezers) oscillations. It draws parallels between the two techniques, explores their underlying assumptions, and showcases important applications in physical and analytical chemistry, biosensing, and colloidal science.
Article
Physics, Fluids & Plasmas
M. Torres Lazaro, R. Aliabadi, H. H. Wensink
Summary: Living polymers composed of weakly flexible, noncovalently bonded building blocks can self-assemble into thermoresponsive lyotropic liquid crystals. The addition of rigid colloidal disks can control the reversible polymer assembly and phase behavior, acting as entropic reorienting templates onto the supramolecular polymers. Small fractions of discotic additives promote the formation of a polymer nematic phase, while larger concentrations disrupt the phase in favor of a discotic nematic fluid where the polymers are dispersed antinematically.
Editorial Material
Microbiology
Francesca Di Nunzio
Summary: In a recent Cell paper, Zhang et al. discovered that stress-induced changes in intra-condensates can activate dormant viruses. These findings provide insights into the intricate interplay between viruses and their hosts, opening up new avenues for further research in the field.
CELL HOST & MICROBE
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Benjamin T. Lobel, Matthew J. Hobson, Peter M. Ireland, Grant B. Webber, Casey A. Thomas, Haruka Ogino, Syuji Fujii, Erica J. Wanless
Summary: This study reports an unusually large spacing observed between microparticles on a water droplet surface using dielectrophoresis, influenced by particle properties and external electric field. A simple model was derived to predict the spacing, balancing dipole-dipole repulsion against particle weight. The study also found that the spacing is dependent on particle density, induced dipole moment, and the number of particles present on the droplet interface.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Milos Knezevic, Till Welker, Holger Stark
Summary: This study shows that active particles can self-organize into collectively moving flocks if the range of non-reciprocal interactions is close to that of steric interactions, leading to a variety of dynamic structural forms.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Physics, Multidisciplinary
Kim L. Kreienkamp, Sabine H. L. Klapp
Summary: This study investigates the impact of non-reciprocity on the collective behavior of a system of chiral active matter. The research suggests that non-reciprocity can change the stability and instability of the system and affect the relative orientation of flocks, highlighting the significance of non-reciprocity in understanding the emergent collective dynamics of chiral active matter systems.
NEW JOURNAL OF PHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Physics, Multidisciplinary
L. Caprini, H. Loewen
Summary: Within a simple model of attractive active Brownian particles, flocking behavior can be observed even without alignment interactions. The transition from a disordered phase to a flocking phase is characterized by the emergence of a single flocking cluster. The spatial connected correlation function of particle velocities can confirm this scenario and distinguish between flocking and non-flocking configurations. Our predictions can be tested in experiments with various systems showing flocking behavior.
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Physics, Fluids & Plasmas
N. Madhusudana
Summary: Nematic liquid crystals, a liquid medium with apolar orientational order, have been found to exhibit a ferroelectric nematic phase in compounds with certain molecular structures as temperature decreases. A simple model involving cylindrical rods with surface charge density waves is proposed to explain why certain compounds show the ferroelectric nematic phase. The weakly first-order nature of the transition from NLC to FN is suggested to arise from a coupling of the polar order and medium density.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yunchan Lee, Min-Gi Jo, Jaekyoung Kim, Ji Hoon Kim, Jae Jung Kim, Kookheon Char, Hyunsik Yoon
Summary: Researchers have produced symmetrical mesoporous microblocks of various designs by manipulating the fragmentation of colloidal films and controlling the angles of pyramidal edges. By changing the location and angles of notches, the shape of microblocks can be controlled with excellent uniformity. These mesoporous microparticles have potential applications in anti-counterfeiting and chemical separation.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Liuyong Shi, Xiangtao Zhong, Tao Wu, Qin Bian, Xiaomei Liu, Huaqing Miao, Yongbo Deng, Binfeng Yin, Teng Zhou
Summary: This study established a multi-physics field coupling model of an optically induced dielectrophoresis (ODEP) chip to investigate the electrodynamics behavior of rodlike particles under the action of ODEP. The study examined the trajectory and planar motion of the particles under positive and negative dielectrophoresis (DEP) actions and analyzed the influence of factors such as applied AC electric voltage, width of optical bright area, and initial position of the particle. The results provide theoretical support for the design of rodlike biological cells manipulation chips based on AC ODEP technology in the future.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Susana Marin-Aguilar, Fabrizio Camerin, Marjolein Dijkstra
Summary: The assembly of colloidal cubic diamond is a challenging process. This study explores the conditions for the nucleation of cubic diamond, focusing on the effect of depletion and DNA-mediated interactions. The study finds that a specific balance between the strength and range of depletion interactions enhances the self-assembly of stable cubic diamond.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Physics, Multidisciplinary
Ryan van Mastrigt, Marjolein Dijkstra, Martin van Hecke, Corentin Coulais
Summary: This paper demonstrates that convolutional neural networks can learn to recognize the boundaries of combinatorial mechanical metamaterials, even with sparse training sets, and successfully generalize, opening up new possibilities for complex material design.
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Physics, Multidisciplinary
Willem Gispen, Marjolein Dijkstra
Summary: In this study, we determined the kinetic phase diagram for nucleation and growth of crystal phases in a suspension of charged colloids. Our simulations show that the nucleation barrier heights for different crystal phases vary with screening lengths and supersaturations. We found that the crystal polymorph with the lowest nucleation barrier occurs in the entire metastable fluid region, and even though fcc is the stable phase, bcc can form due to a lower nucleation barrier close to the triple point. Additionally, at higher supersaturation, we observed a mix of different crystal structures in both the growth of crystalline seeds and spontaneously formed crystals.
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Yogesh Shelke, Susana Marin -Aguilar, Fabrizio Camerin, Marjolein Dijkstra, Daniela J. Kraft
Summary: Colloidal molecules with anisotropic shapes and interactions have been utilized as model systems to understand the behavior of real molecules and develop materials with desired properties. By using electrostatic self-assembly, we have demonstrated that the shape of cubic particles plays a crucial role in achieving high yields of distinct colloidal molecules across a wide range of size ratios. Our protocol is not affected by the specific choice of colloidal particle material and can be extended to other templating particle shapes, significantly expanding the library of colloidal molecules that can be obtained with high yield and purity.
JOURNAL OF COLLOID AND INTERFACE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Physics, Multidisciplinary
W. Q. Boon, M. Dijkstra, R. van Roij
Summary: Chemical reactions responsible for charging of solids in water are investigated theoretically, and it is found that the equilibration of surface charge contains important information on reaction mechanisms and ion valency. A nonlinear differential equation is constructed to describe surface charging by combining Langmuir kinetics and Poisson-Boltzmann theory. The relaxation rates at late-time and short-time reveal information on charge valency and ad- or desorption mechanism, and an inflection point during equilibration distinguishes single-ion reactions from two-ion reactions, suggesting a Coulombic ion-surface interaction as an autocatalytic feedback mechanism.
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Nuno A. M. Araujo, Liesbeth M. C. Janssen, Thomas Barois, Guido Boffetta, Itai Cohen, Alessandro Corbetta, Olivier Dauchot, Marjolein Dijkstra, William M. Durham, Audrey Dussutour, Simon Garnier, Hanneke Gelderblom, Ramin Golestanian, Lucio Isa, Gijsje H. Koenderink, Hartmut Loewen, Ralf Metzler, Marco Polin, C. Patrick Royall, Andela Saric, Anupam Sengupta, Cecile Sykes, Vito Trianni, Idan Tuval, Nicolas Vogel, Julia M. Yeomans, Iker Zuriguel, Alvaro Marin, Giorgio Volpe
Summary: Self-organisation is the spontaneous emergence of spatio-temporal structures and patterns from the interaction of smaller individual units. Confinement can mediate and control self-organisation by limiting the translational and rotational degrees of freedom, acting as a catalyst or inhibitor. By constraining the self-organisation process in soft-matter systems, confinement can actively steer the emergence or suppression of collective phenomena in space and time.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Willem Gispen, Gabriele M. Coli, Robin van Damme, C. Patrick Royall, Marjolein Dijkstra
Summary: Nucleation is crucial for crystal formation and is involved in various phenomena, yet many aspects of the nucleation process remain poorly understood. In this study, the excess of particles in a face-centered-cubic (fcc)-like environment compared to a hexagonal-close-packed (hcp)-like environment in a crystal nucleus of hard spheres is explained by the higher order structure in the fluid phase. Pentagonal bipyramids, known as inhibitors of crystal nucleation, transform into Siamese dodecahedra, which are closely similar to an fcc subunit, explaining the higher propensity for fcc growth in hard spheres. This crystallization and polymorph selection mechanism is generic for crystal nucleation from a dense, strongly correlated fluid phase.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Yunhan Zhang, Giuliana Giunta, Haojun Liang, Marjolein Dijkstra
Summary: Leveraging the anisotropic shape of DNA-functionalized nanoparticles allows for shape-directed crystallization of various superlattice structures. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we observe the self-assembly of different phases (SC, pBCT, and d-pBCT) in a binary mixture of cubic gold nanoparticles functionalized with complementary DNA strands. We investigate the impact of DNA strand length, grafting density, and rigidity on the self-assembly behavior and find that longer and flexible DNA strands can induce a phase transformation from SC to pBCT due to increased entropy.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2023)
Article
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Simone Ciarella, Massimiliano Chiappini, Emanuele Boattini, Marjolein Dijkstra, Liesbeth M. C. Janssen
Summary: We present a machine-learning approach to predict the non-Markovian dynamics of supercooled liquids using static averaged quantities as input and output. Our method outperforms particle propensity-based techniques and is more applicable in experimental contexts where particle resolved information is not available. Our deep neural network can accurately predict the self intermediate scattering function of binary mixtures based on their static structure factor, and the model shows some transferability to lower temperatures or similar systems. Furthermore, we develop an evolutionary strategy that parameterizes the memory function of supercooled liquids as the sum of two stretched exponentials, corresponding to two dominant relaxation modes.
MACHINE LEARNING-SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yogesh Shelke, Fabrizio Camerin, Susana Marin-Aguilar, Ruben W. Verweij, Marjolein Dijkstra, Daniela J. Kraft
Summary: In this study, flexible colloidal molecules with an in situ controllable motion range and bond directionality were created by assembling spherical particles onto cubes functionalized with complementary surface-mobile DNA. The size ratio of the sphere-to-cube varied to obtain colloidal molecules with different coordination numbers, and it was found that they exhibited a constrained range of motion above a critical size ratio. The confinement of the spheres on the surface of the cube and the probability to change facet were quantified, and temperature was identified as an extra control parameter to switch between full and constrained flexibility.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Aarya Prabhakaran, Zhiya Dang, Rohan Dhall, Fabrizio Camerin, Susana Marin-Aguilar, Balaji Dhanabalan, Andrea Castelli, Rosaria Brescia, Liberato Manna, Marjolein Dijkstra, Milena P. P. Arciniegas
Summary: Manipulating nano-objects through heating is an effective approach to modify the structure and optoelectronic properties of semiconducting materials. In this study, temperature-sensitive CsPbBr(3) perovskite nanoplatelets were synthesized and their structural evolution was observed at the nanoscale using in situ heating transmission electron microscopy. The morphological changes, starting from self-assembly into ribbons and ultimately forming randomly dispersed nanosheets on a substrate, were identified and supported by molecular dynamics simulations. The merging paths of the nanoplates within the ribbons were found to be influenced by the random orientation of the initial ribbons and the mobility of ligands, enabling the creation of structures with tunable emission ranging from blue to green.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Giuliana Giunta, Gerardo Campos-Villalobos, Marjolein Dijkstra
Summary: Colloidal nanoparticles can self-assemble into superstructures with distinctive properties. This study proposes a machine-learning approach to construct effective coarse-grained many-body interaction potentials for investigating the self-assembly behavior of complex colloidal systems. The key advantage of this method is its generality.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Tor Sewring, Marjolein Dijkstra
Summary: Using Onsager-Straley's theory, this study investigates the cholesteric pitch of cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) suspensions. The research reveals that the twisting of chiral bundles significantly affects the helical twisting of the cholesteric phase. Moreover, the average particle length and length polydispersity have a substantial impact on strongly twisted bundles but minimal effects on weakly twisted ones.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2023)
Article
Physics, Fluids & Plasmas
Carmine Anzivino, Rene van Roij, Marjolein Dijkstra
Summary: Using a grand-canonical Landau-de Gennes theory, this study investigates the local density of twist-bend and splay-bend nematic phases in colloidal suspensions of bent rods. The findings show periodic modulations of local density in the splay-bend phase, making it similar to a smectic phase rather than a nematic phase. In contrast, the twist-bend phase exhibits no spatial variation in local density, confirming it as a proper nematic phase. The predicted density modulations in splay-bend phases are consistent with recent simulations.