Speaker
Description
Selective formation of a cubic diamond is challenging due to the formation of competing phases possessing similar free energy. Examples of such are: stacking hybrids of interwoven hexagonal and cubic diamonds with (i) its liquid phase, (ii) arrested glasses, or (iii) clathrates, all depending on the relative patch size, despite being within the single association regime [1, 2]. The necessity to selectively achieve cubic diamond is of paramount importance since it exhibits a complete photonic bandgap at lower frequencies than the hexagonal counterpart, making it a promising candidate in view of photonic applications [3].
Herein, we demonstrate that due to the presence of an external field and by manipulation of its strength we can attain selectivity in the formation of a cubic diamond in a one-component system comprised of designer tetrahedral patchy particles, despite the formation of stacking hybrids in bulk. The driving force of such a phenomenon is the structure of the first adlayer which is commensurate with the (110) face of the cubic diamond [4].
In contrast, we show that the 1:1 mixture of identical patchy particles cannot selectively form the cubic diamond and always yields a mixture of both diamond phases, however, the emergence of stacking hybrids is observed for a wider range of patch sizes compared to the one-component system [5]. The reason for such a change in the growth mechanism is due to the frustrations present in the system that are manifested in the primary adsorption layer and propagate as the film grows.
References:
[1] F. Romano, E. Sanz, F. Sciortino, Crystallization of tetrahedral patchy particles in silico, The J. Chem. Phys. 134, 174502 (2011).
[2] E. G. Noya, I. Zubieta, D. J. Pine, F. Sciortino, Assembly of clathrates from tetrahedral patchy colloids with narrow patches, The J. Chem. Phys. 151, 094502 (2019).
[3] R. K. Cersonsky, J. Antonaglia, B. D. Dice, S. C. Glotzer, The diversity of three-dimensional photonic crystals, Nat. Comm. 12, 2543 (2021).
[4] Ł. Baran, D. Tarasewicz, D. M. Kamiński, W. Rżysko, Pursuing colloidal diamonds, Nanoscale 15, 10623–10633 (2023).
[5] D.Tarasewicz, E. Raczyłło, W. Rżysko, Ł. Baran, Self-assembly of chromatic patchy particles with tetrahedrally arranged patches, Soft Matter 21, 1203-1211 (2025).