Dimerization and structure formation of colloids via capillarity at curved fluid interfaces.

ABSTRACT: Capillary interactions are ubiquitous between colloids trapped at fluid interfaces. Generally, colloids in fluid interfaces have pinned, undulated contact lines that distort the interface around them. To minimize the area, and therefore the energy of these distortions, colloids interact and assemble in a manner that depends on the shape of the host interface. On curved interfaces, capillary interactions direct isolated colloid motion along deviatoric curvature gradients. This directed motion relies on the leading order, long-ranged quadrupolar distortions made by the colloids' undulated pinned contact lines. Here we study pair interactions and dimer formation of colloids on non-uniformly curved fluid interfaces. Pair interaction energies are inferred to be order of 104kBT, and interacting

SUBMITTER: Read A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7371263 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature