Microphase Equilibrium and Assembly Dynamics

TL;DR

This paper investigates the equilibrium properties and assembly dynamics of microphase-forming colloids, identifying dynamical regimes and structural transitions, and suggests pathways for experimental realization of ordered microphases.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of the dynamical regimes and structural changes in microphase formation, advancing understanding of their assembly in colloidal systems.

Findings

Four distinct dynamical regimes identified above the order-disorder transition.

Periodic lamellae are the most dynamically accessible microphases.

Structural changes underlie dynamical crossovers between regimes.

Abstract

Despite many attempts, ordered equilibrium microphases have yet to be obtained in experimental colloidal suspensions. The recent computation of the equilibrium phase diagram of a microscopic, particle-based microphase former [Zhuang et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 098301 (2016)] has nonetheless found such mesoscale assemblies to be thermodynamically stable. Here, we consider their equilibrium and assembly dynamics. At intermediate densities above the order-disorder transition, we identify four different dynamical regimes and the structural changes that underlie the dynamical crossovers from one disordered regime to the next. Below the order-disorder transition, we also find that periodic lamellae are the most dynamically accessible of the periodic microphases. Our analysis thus offers a comprehensive view of the disordered microphase dynamics and a route to the assembly of periodic microphases in a putative well-controlled, experimental system.