Phase separation on the sphere: Patchy particles and self-assembly

TL;DR

This paper models phase separation on spherical surfaces, revealing how finite-size effects create metastable patchy states and exploring their implications for self-assembly in particle systems.

Contribution

It introduces a minimal model for phase separation on curved surfaces, highlighting the role of size and thermodynamics in patch formation and stability.

Findings

Finite-size effects induce long-lived patchy states.

Particle size influences phase separation dynamics.

Implications for self-assembly of patchy particles.

Abstract

Motivated by observations of heterogeneous domain structure on the surface of cells, we consider a minimal model to describe the dynamics of phase separation on the surface of a spherical particle. Finite-size effects on the curved particle surface lead to the formation of long-lived, metastable states for which the density is distributed in patches over the particle surface. We study the time evolution and stability of these states as a function of both the particle size and the thermodynamic parameters. Finally, by connecting our findings with studies of patchy particles, we consider the implications for self-assembly in many-particle systems.