Optimized Large Hyperuniform Binary Colloidal Suspensions in Two Dimensions

TL;DR

This paper presents a new fabrication protocol for creating large, effectively hyperuniform binary colloidal suspensions in two dimensions using tunable magnetic interactions, enabling potential applications in photonic materials.

Contribution

The study introduces a novel method to produce hyperuniform binary colloidal suspensions with optimal size ratios, leveraging magnetic dipolar interactions to achieve hyperuniformity.

Findings

Identified optimal size ratios for hyperuniformity in binary colloids.

Demonstrated hyperuniformity linked to low isothermal compressibility.

Protocol applicable to various soft long-range interactions and dimensions.

Abstract

The creation of disordered hyperuniform materials with potentially extraordinary optical properties requires a capacity to synthesize large samples that are effectively hyperuniform down to the nanoscale. Motivated by this challenge, we propose a fabrication protocol using binary superparamagnetic colloidal particles confined in a 2D plane. The strong and long-ranged dipolar interaction induced by a tunable magnetic field is free from screening effects that attenuates long-ranged electrostatic interactions in charged colloidal systems. Specifically, we find a family of optimal size ratios that makes the two-phase system effectively hyperuniform. We show that hyperuniformity is a general consequence of low isothermal compressibilities, which makes our protocol suitable to systems with other long-ranged soft interactions, dimensionalities and/or polydispersity. Our methodology paves the way to synthesize large photonic hyperuniform materials that function in the visible to infrared range and hence may accelerate the discovery of novel photonic materials.