Controlling active self-assembly through broken particle-shape symmetry

Controlling active self-assembly through broken particle-shape symmetry.

Many structural properties of conventional passive materials are known to arise from the symmetries of their microscopic constituents. By contrast, it is largely unclear how the interplay between particle shape and self-propulsion controls the meso- and macroscale behavior of active matter. Here we use large-scale simulations of homo- and heterogeneous self-propelled particle systems to identif...

Phase separation and rotor self-assembly in active particle suspensions.

Adding a nonadsorbing polymer to passive colloids induces an attraction between the particles via the "depletion" mechanism. High enough polymer concentrations lead to phase separation. We combine experiments, theory, and simulations to demonstrate that using active colloids (such as motile bacteria) dramatically changes the physics of such mixtures. First, significantly stronger interparticle ...

Controlling and Understanding Self-Assembly

Characterizing Structure Through Shape Matching and Applications to Self Assembly

Correlation Functions: Thus far, we have either extended the applicability of standard condensed matter order parameters and correlation functions by incorporating shape matching, or applied standard shape matching applications directly in the context of assembled systems. However, in addition to extending existing applications for use with assembled systems, shape matching allows us to invent ...

Assembly Modulated by Particle Position and Shape: A New Concept in Self-Assembly

In this communication we outline how the bespoke arrangements and design of micron-sized superparamagnetic shapes provide levers to modulate their assembly under homogeneous magnetic fields. We label this new approach, 'assembly modulated by particle position and shape' (APPS). Specifically, using rectangular lattices of superparamagnetic micron-sized cuboids, we construct distinct microstructu...