Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 20, 2025

Phase Diagram Characterization Using Magnetic Beads as Liquid Carriers
Published on: September 4, 2015
Infinite-pressure phase diagram of binary mixtures of (non)additive hard disks
Etienne Fayen1, Anuradha Jagannathan1, Giuseppe Foffi1
1Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, 91405 Orsay, France.
Abstract:
One versatile route to the creation of two-dimensional crystal structures on the nanometer to micrometer scale is the self-assembly of colloidal particles at an interface. Here, we explore the crystal phases that can be expected from the self-assembly of mixtures of spherical particles of two different sizes, which we map to (additive or non-additive) hard-disk mixtures. We map out the infinite-pressure phase diagram for these mixtures using Floppy Box Monte Carlo simulations to systematically sample candidate crystal structures with up to 12 disks in the unit cell. As a function of the size ratio and the number ratio of the two species of particles, we find a rich variety of periodic crystal structures. Additionally, we identify random tiling regions to predict random tiling quasicrystal stability ranges. Increasing non-additivity both gives rise to additional crystal phases and broadens the stability regime for crystal structures involving a large number of large-small contacts, including random tilings. Our results provide useful guidelines for controlling the self-assembly of colloidal particles at interfaces.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Phase Diagrams
Phase Diagram
Phase Transitions: Sublimation and Deposition
pV-Diagrams
Phase Transitions: Melting and Freezing
States of Matter and Phase Changes

