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Design principles for Bernal spirals and helices with tunable pitch

Fejer, S.N.; Chakrabarti, D.; Kusumaatmaja, H.; Wales, D.J.

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Authors

S.N. Fejer

D. Chakrabarti

D.J. Wales



Abstract

Using the framework of potential energy landscape theory, we describe two in silico designs for self-assembling helical colloidal superstructures based upon dipolar dumbbells and Janus-type building blocks, respectively. Helical superstructures with controllable pitch length are obtained using external magnetic field driven assembly of asymmetric dumbbells involving screened electrostatic as well as magnetic dipolar interactions. The pitch of the helix is tuned by modulating the Debye screening length over an experimentally accessible range. The second design is based on building blocks composed of rigidly linked spheres with short-range anisotropic interactions, which are predicted to self-assemble into Bernal spirals. These spirals are quite flexible, and longer helices undergo rearrangements via cooperative, hinge-like moves, in agreement with experiment.

Citation

Fejer, S., Chakrabarti, D., Kusumaatmaja, H., & Wales, D. (2014). Design principles for Bernal spirals and helices with tunable pitch. Nanoscale, 6(16), 9448-9456. https://doi.org/10.1039/c4nr00324a

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Aug 21, 2014
Deposit Date Aug 29, 2014
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Nanoscale
Print ISSN 2040-3364
Electronic ISSN 2040-3372
Publisher Royal Society of Chemistry
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 6
Issue 16
Pages 9448-9456
DOI https://doi.org/10.1039/c4nr00324a

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