Crystallization, vitrification, and gelation of patchy colloidal particles

Abstract

We present the phase diagrams for neutral patchy colloidal particles whose surface is decorated by different number of identical patches, where each patch serves as an associating site. The hard-core Lennard-Jones (LJ) potential and associating interaction are incorporated into the free energies of patchy particles in phases of the fluid (F), random close packing (RCP), and face-centered-cubic (FCC) crystal. A rich phase structure of patchy particles with F-F, F-RCP, and F-FCC transitions can be observed. Meanwhile, the sol-gel transition (SGT) characterizing the connectivity of patchy particles is also investigated. It is shown that, depending on the number of patches and associating energy, the F-F transition might be metastable or stable with respect to the F-RCP and F-FCC transitions. Meanwhile, the critical temperatures, critical densities, triple points, and SGT can be significantly regulated by these factors.