Microscopically Resolved Simulations Prove the Existence of Soft Cluster Crystals

Autor(en)

Dominic Lenz, Ronald Blaak, Christos Likos, Bianca Mladek

Abstrakt

We perform extensive monomer-resolved computer simulations of suitably designed amphiphilic dendritic macromolecules over a broad range of densities, proving the existence and stability of cluster crystals formed in these systems, as predicted previously on the basis of effective pair potentials [ B. M. Mladek et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 96 045701 (2006)]. Key properties of these crystals, such as the adjustment of their site occupancy with density and the possibility to heal defects by dendrimer migration, are confirmed on the monomer-resolved picture. At the same time, important differences from the predictions of the pair potential picture, stemming from steric crowding, arise as well, and they place an upper limit in the density for which such crystals can exist.

Organisation(en)

Computergestützte Physik und Physik der Weichen Materie, Department für Strukturbiologie und Computational Biology

Journal

Physical Review Letters

Band

109

Anzahl der Seiten

5

ISSN

0031-9007

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.228301

Publikationsdatum

2012

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ÖFOS 2012

103023 Polymerphysik, 103036 Theoretische Physik, 103015 Kondensierte Materie, 103029 Statistische Physik

Link zum Portal

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/9f8ed0d8-bb53-4197-9728-b49d8df1bee5