A theory for the effect of patch / non-patch attractions on the self-assembly of patchy colloids

TL;DR

This paper develops a thermodynamic perturbation theory to understand how patch and non-patch attractions influence the self-assembly and phase behavior of patchy colloids, with applications to liquid water.

Contribution

It introduces a new theoretical framework that accounts for both patch-patch and patch/non-patch attractions in colloids, enabling controlled self-assembly analysis.

Findings

The theory explains anomalous phase behavior in patchy colloids.

Application to liquid water reveals insights into its unique phase properties.

Controlled self-assembly can be achieved by tuning attraction energy scales.

Abstract

In this paper, we develop a thermodynamic perturbation theory to describe the self-assembly of patchy colloids which exhibit both patch-patch attractions as well as patch / non-patch attractions. That is, patches attract other patches as well as the no patch region. In general these attractions operate on different energy scales, which allows for controlled self-assembly as well as anomalous phase behavior. As an application we apply the model to the study of liquid water.