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Updated: Dec 18, 2025
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Patterning of Microorganisms and Microparticles through Sequential Capillarity-assisted Assembly
Published on: November 4, 2021
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Impact of particle arrays on phase separation composition patterns.
Supriyo Ghosh1, Arnab Mukherjee2, Raymundo Arroyave3
1Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA.
The Journal of Chemical Physics
|June 15, 2020
Summary
Fixed particle arrangements can control how binary blends separate into distinct phases. Simulations show this allows tuning morphology from continuous to lamellar, offering new ways to engineer material patterns.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Soft Matter Physics
- Chemical Engineering
Background:
- Surface-directed spinodal decomposition is crucial for creating patterned materials.
- Controlling phase separation in binary blends is essential for material properties.
- Particle interactions significantly influence blend morphology.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the symmetry-breaking effect of fixed particle constellations on blend phase separation.
- To explore how particle arrangement and properties tune the resulting morphology.
- To understand the formation and stabilization of transient target patterns.
Main Methods:
- Phase-field simulations of binary blends in the presence of patterned particles.
- Systematic variation of interparticle spacing, blend composition, and time.
- Simulation of single-particle, multi-particle, and cluster-particle systems with diverse geometrical configurations.
Main Results:
- Particle arrays enable tuning of phase separation morphology (continuous, droplet, lamellar, hybrid).
- Large interparticle spacing can lead to transient target patterns mirroring particle symmetry.
- Target patterns stabilize under specific conditions related to mixture scales.
- Tailoring particle configuration offers control over phase separation morphology at larger scales than block copolymers.
Conclusions:
- Fixed particle arrangements offer a powerful method for controlling blend phase separation morphology.
- The observed phenomena provide guidance for engineering patterned blends and mixtures.
- This approach allows for the creation of complex material structures with tunable properties.
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