Entropy (Oct 2020)

Self-Assembly of Microscopic Rods Due to Depletion Interaction

  • Carles Calero,
  • Ignacio Pagonabarraga

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/e22101114
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 22, no. 10
p. 1114

Abstract

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In this article, using numerical simulations we investigate the self-assembly of rod-like particles in suspension due to depletion forces which naturally emerge due to the presence of smaller spherical depletant particles. We characterize the type of clusters that are formed and the evolution of aggregation departing from a random initial configuration. We show that eventually the system reaches a thermodynamic equilibrium state in which the aggregates break and reform dynamically. We investigate the equilibrium state of aggregation, which exhibits a strong dependence on depletant concentration. In addition, we provide a simple thermodynamic model inspired on the theory of self-assembly of amphiphilic molecules which allows us to understand qualitatively the equilibrium aggregate size distributions that we obtain in simulation.

Keywords