Particle self-assembly on soft elastic shells

TL;DR

This study uses numerical simulations to explore how particles self-assemble on elastic shells, revealing controllable pattern formations influenced by mechanical properties and binding energies, with implications for material design.

Contribution

The paper introduces a novel simulation approach to understand particle self-assembly on deformable shells and links pattern formation to shell shape transitions.

Findings

Particles form linear patterns on elastic shells.

Pattern morphology depends on mechanical properties and binding energy.

Flexible chains exhibit similar conformations to nanoparticles.

Abstract

We use numerical simulations to show how noninteracting hard particles binding to a deformable elastic shell may self-assemble into a variety of linear patterns. This is a result of the nontrivial elastic response to deformations of shells. The morphology of the patterns can be controlled by the mechanical properties of the surface, and can be fine-tuned by varying the binding energy of the particles. We also repeat our calculations for a fully flexible chain and find that the chain conformations follow patterns similar to those formed by the nanoparticles under analogous conditions. We propose a simple way of understanding and sorting the different structures and relate it to the underlying shape transition of the shell. Finally, we discuss the implications of our results.