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Unifying Atoms and Colloids near the Glass Transition through Bond-Order Topology
Laura Stricker1, Peter M Derlet2, Ahmet Faik Demirörs3
1Department of Materials, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland.
Physical Review Letters
|June 10, 2024
Summary
Researchers mapped colloidal suspension particle volume fraction to temperature using bond-order topology. This revealed systems resemble undercooled liquids, offering a new way to study arrested colloidal dynamics.
Area of Science:
- Colloidal science
- Condensed matter physics
- Computational materials science
Background:
- Colloidal suspensions exhibit complex behaviors, including glass transitions, influenced by particle interactions and volume fraction.
- Atomistic simulations are crucial for understanding microscopic dynamics but require accurate parameterization for experimental systems.
- Quantifying structural similarity between experimental and simulated systems is challenging.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a method for quantitatively matching experimental colloidal suspensions to atomistic simulations.
- To investigate the structural similarity of mechanically compressed colloidal suspensions to simulated liquids.
- To establish a framework for analyzing relaxation dynamics in arrested colloidal systems.
Main Methods:
- Utilized bond-order topology to establish a quantitative mapping between particle volume fraction and temperature.
- Performed combined experimental and atomistic simulation studies.
- Analyzed the structural and dynamical properties of colloidal suspensions.
Main Results:
- Achieved quantitative matching of particle volume fraction in experimental colloidal suspensions with temperature in atomistic simulations.
- Determined that the mapping temperature is above the dynamical glass transition temperature.
- Identified that the examined colloidal systems structurally resemble simulated undercooled liquids.
Conclusions:
- The bond-order topology provides a unifying framework for quantifying relaxation in arrested colloidal systems.
- Mechanically compressed colloidal suspensions share structural characteristics with simulated undercooled liquids.
- This approach enables more accurate comparisons between experimental and simulated colloidal dynamics.
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