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Research Article| April 11 2012

Sheet-like assemblies of spherical particles with point-symmetrical patches

Ethayaraja Mani;

Ethayaraja Mani

1Van’ t Hoff Laboratory for Physical and Colloid Chemistry, Debye Institute,

Utrecht University

, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht,

The Netherlands

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Eduardo Sanz;

Eduardo Sanz ^c)

2Soft Condensed Matter Group, Debye Institute,

Utrecht University

, Princetonplein 5, 3584 CC Utrecht,

The Netherlands

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Soumyajit Roy;

Soumyajit Roy ^d)

1Van’ t Hoff Laboratory for Physical and Colloid Chemistry, Debye Institute,

Utrecht University

, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht,

The Netherlands

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Marjolein Dijkstra;

Marjolein Dijkstra

2Soft Condensed Matter Group, Debye Institute,

Utrecht University

, Princetonplein 5, 3584 CC Utrecht,

The Netherlands

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Jan Groenewold;

Jan Groenewold

1Van’ t Hoff Laboratory for Physical and Colloid Chemistry, Debye Institute,

Utrecht University

, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht,

The Netherlands

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Willem K. Kegel

Willem K. Kegel ^a)

1Van’ t Hoff Laboratory for Physical and Colloid Chemistry, Debye Institute,

Utrecht University

, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht,

The Netherlands

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Author & Article Information

Ethayaraja Mani ¹

,

Eduardo Sanz ^2,c)

,

Soumyajit Roy ^1,d)

,

Marjolein Dijkstra ²

,

Jan Groenewold ¹

,

Willem K. Kegel ^1,a)

1Van’ t Hoff Laboratory for Physical and Colloid Chemistry, Debye Institute,

Utrecht University

, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht,

The Netherlands

2Soft Condensed Matter Group, Debye Institute,

Utrecht University

, Princetonplein 5, 3584 CC Utrecht,

The Netherlands

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed. Electronic addresses: [email protected] and [email protected]. Tel: +91 44 2257 4157 and +31 30 253 2873. Fax: +91 44 2257 4152 and +31 30 253 3870.

Present address: Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036, India.

Present address: Departamento de Quimica Fisica I, Facultad de Ciencias Quimicas, Universidad Complutense, 28040 Madrid, Spain.

Present address: Chemical Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata 700064, India.

J. Chem. Phys. 136, 144706 (2012)

https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3702203

We report a computational study on the spontaneous self-assembly of spherical particles into two-dimensional crystals. The experimental observation of such structures stabilized by spherical objects appeared paradoxical so far. We implement patchy interactions with the patches point-symmetrically (icosahedral and cubic) arranged on the surface of the particle. In these conditions, preference for self-assembly into sheet-like structures is observed. We explain our findings in terms of the inherent symmetry of the patches and the competition between binding energy and vibrational entropy. The simulation results explain why hollow spherical shells observed in some Keplerate-type polyoxometalates (POM) appear. Our results also provide an explanation for the experimentally observed layer-by-layer growth of apoferritin - a quasi-spherical protein.

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© 2012 American Institute of Physics.

2012

American Institute of Physics

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