2011/01/29 by Michael Engel · 18 citations
Chemistry · Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Chemical physics #Chemistry #Computer science #Condensed matter physics #Crystallography #Energy (signal processing) #Hexagonal crystal system #Isotropy #Material Dynamics and Properties #Materials science #Nanoscopic scale #Nanotechnology #Optics #Optoelectronics #Physics #Pickering emulsions and particle stabilization #Planar #Quantum mechanics #Simple (philosophy) #Stability (learning theory) #Superlattice #Superstructure #Theoretical and Computational Physics #Thermodynamic integration #Thermodynamics #cond-mat.soft
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.106.095504
published in Physical Review Letters 106(9), 095504 (American Physical Society) · 4 pages, 5 figures plus 7 pages of supplementary figures
arxiv created 2011/01/29 · openalex publication_date 2011/03/02 · arxiv updated 2015/03/18 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
The self-assembly of novel [corrected] ordered structures with nanoparticles has recently received much attention. Here we use computer simulations to study a two-dimensional model system characterized by a simple isotropic interaction that could be realized with building blocks on the nanoscale. We find that the particles arrange themselves into hexagonal superstructures of twin boundaries whose superlattice vector can be tuned reversibly by changing the temperature. Thermodynamic stability is confirmed by calculating the free energy with a combination of thermodynamic integration and the Frenkel-Ladd method. Different contributions to the free energy difference are discussed.