Modeling the early stages of self-assembly in nanophase materials

The early stages of self-assembly of the elementary building blocks of nanophase materials are studied. The relative roles of entropic and energetic factors in determining the relative abundance of the final products present is analyzed using both a kinetic mean field model and a mesoscopic approach in which self-assembly is viewed as an encounter-controlled process on a discrete lattice. The relevance of the results in zeolite synthesis in connection with the ordered liquid phases recently discovered in these materials is discussed.