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Updated: Apr 24, 2026

Liquid-cell Transmission Electron Microscopy for Tracking Self-assembly of Nanoparticles
Published on: October 16, 2017
Controlled self-assembly of periodic and aperiodic cluster crystals
Kobi Barkan1, Michael Engel2, Ron Lifshitz3
1Raymond and Beverly Sackler School of Physics and Astronomy, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel.
Abstract:
Soft particles are known to overlap and form stable clusters that self-assemble into periodic crystalline phases with density-independent lattice constants. We use molecular dynamics simulations in two dimensions to demonstrate that, through a judicious design of an isotropic pair potential, one can control the ordering of the clusters and generate a variety of phases, including decagonal and dodecagonal quasicrystals. Our results confirm analytical predictions based on a mean-field approximation, providing insight into the stabilization of quasicrystals in soft macromolecular systems, and suggesting a practical approach for their controlled self-assembly in laboratory realizations using synthesized soft-matter particles.
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