Number of arm selection in two-dimensional diffusion processes

Abstract

We introduce an algorithm to generate two-dimensional diffusion-limited star-branched aggregates (DLSA) attaching bi-functional monomers successively to a central colloidal particle with any desired number of reactive sites. The proposed algorithm produces star-shaped aggregates that grow forever and show a power law polydispersity in the chemical length of the arms near the central colloid. More interestingly, it gives rise to a number of arm selection consisting in that only a small number of arms (around five) define the final structure at relatively large distances from the central colloid, independently of the initial number of reactive sites and the size of the central colloid. We characterize the structure of the aggregates by means of the particle-particle correlation function, analyze its scaling properties and obtain the fractal dimension.