Entropy-Driven Phase Transitions in Colloidal Systems

Abstract

This thesis can be divided into two independent parts. In the first part of this thesis, we focus on studying the kinetic pathways of nucleation in colloidal systems. In Chapter 2, we briefly introduce the relevant theory of nucleation, i.e., classic nucleation theory. Then in Chapter 3, we investigate the crystal nucleation in the "simplest" model system for colloids, i.e., the monodisperse hard-sphere system, by using three different simulation methods, i.e., molecular dynamics, forward flux sampling and umbrella sampling simulations. Subsequently, we apply our simulation methods to a more realistic system of colloidal hard spheres in Chapter 4. Furthermore, we study the nucleation in a variety of systems consisting of hard particles, i.e., hard dumbbells (Chapter 5), hard rods (Chapter 6), hard colloidal polymers (Chapter 7) and binary hard-sphere mixtures (Chapter 8). In the second part of this thesis, we study the phase behavior of several colloidal systems. In Chapter 9, we study the equilibrium phase diagram of colloidal hard superballs whose shape interpolates from cubes to octahedra via spheres. We investigate the micellization of asymmetric patchy dumbbells induced by the depletion attraction in Chapter 10.

PhD thesis, Utrecht University, July 2012. 188 pages

References in corpus (25)

• Accurate determination of crystal structures based on averaged local bond order parameters
• Phase diagram of patchy colloids: towards empty liquids
• Dense Packings of the Platonic and Archimedean Solids
• Finite-size corrections to the free energy of crystalline solids
• Crystallization of hard-sphere glasses
• Precursor-mediated crystallization process in suspensions of hard spheres
• Theoretical and numerical study of the phase diagram of patchy colloids: ordered and disordered patch arrangements
• Optimal Packings of Superballs
• Dense Regular Packings of Irregular Non-Convex Particles
• The packing of granular polymer chains
• Vacancy-stabilized crystalline order in hard cubes
• Phase Behavior of Colloidal Superballs: Shape Interpolation from Spheres to Cubes
• Evidence for out-of-equilibrium crystal nucleation in suspensions of oppositely charged colloids
• Coupling/decoupling between translational and rotational dynamics in a supercooled molecular liquid
• Idealized glass transitions for a system of dumbbell molecules
• Fractionation effects in phase equilibria of polydisperse hard sphere colloids
• Evidence for the weak steric hindrance scenario in the supercooled-state reorientational dynamics
• The interplay between hydrodynamic and Brownian fluctuations in sedimenting colloidal suspensions
• Self-assembly of monodisperse clusters: Dependence on target geometry
• Fluids of hard ellipsoids: Phase diagram including a nematic instability from Percus-Yevick theory
• Wall-Fluid and Liquid-Gas Interfaces of Model Colloid-Polymer Mixtures by Simulation and Theory
• Structural relaxation in a system of dumbbell molecules
• Phase diagrams of Zwanzig models: The effect of polydispersity
• Dynamics in a supercooled liquid of symmetric dumbbells: Reorientational hopping for small molecular elongations
• Crystal Nucleation in a Supercooled Liquid with Glassy Dynamics