Re-entrant Phase Behavior in Confined Two-Patch Colloidal Particles

We present a version of density functional approach for the system of patchy colloidal particles confined in slitlike pores with hard walls. Each particle possesses two off-center sites of the types A and B, and in addition to single A-A and B-B bonds, formation of the double A-B-A and B-A-B bonds is allowed. The proposed approach is based on the fundamental measure theory and the second order perturbation theory of Wertheim. For the model in question, a re-entrant phase behavior in a bulk system has been found [Kalyuzhnyi Y. V.; Cummings, P. T., J. Chem. Phys. 2013, 139, 104905]. Our calculations revealed that the re-entrant phase diagrams are also observed in confined systems. The upper critical temperature decreases with the pore width, while the lower critical temperature increases very slightly.