Issue 19, 2015

Self-assembly of Janus particles under shear

Abstract

We investigate the self-assembly of colloidal Janus particles under shear flow by employing hybrid molecular dynamics simulations that explicitly take into account hydrodynamic interactions. Under quiescent conditions, the amphiphilic colloids form spherical micellar aggregates of different sizes, where the solvophobic hemispheres are directed towards the core and the solvophilic caps are exposed to the solvent. When sufficiently strong shear is applied, the micelles disaggregate with a consequent decay of the average cluster size. Nonetheless, we find an intermediate shear rate regime where the balance between rearrangement and dissociation favors the growth of the aggregates. Additionally, our simulations show that clusters composed of either 6 or 13 particles are the most stable towards the shear flow due to their high geometric symmetry. Our findings open up a new range of applications for Janus particles, ranging from biotechnology to sensor systems.

Graphical abstract: Self-assembly of Janus particles under shear

Associated articles

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
03 Feb 2015
Accepted
15 Mar 2015
First published
16 Mar 2015

Soft Matter, 2015,11, 3767-3771

Self-assembly of Janus particles under shear

E. Bianchi, A. Z. Panagiotopoulos and A. Nikoubashman, Soft Matter, 2015, 11, 3767 DOI: 10.1039/C5SM00281H

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements