Optimizing Lobed Colloid Design to Produce Core-Shell Morphologies

Lobed colloids are a class of particles that are designed with protrusions on their surfaces that can be leveraged to provide directionality to interparticle interactions. The self-assembly of lobed particles is an emerging approach for designing novel materials with applications that range from photonics to tissue engineering. In this work, we used Langevin Dynamics to investigate self-assembly of polydisperse systems of lobed colloidal particles, in which changes in design features, including particle shapes, lobe sizes, interparticle interactions, and system concentrations were explored. Polydisperse systems were obtained by mixing dumbbell particles (DB, 2 lobes) and trigonal planar particles (TP, 3 lobes) in an equal ratio. In these simulations, the systems were initially maintained at high temperatures, ensuring that the lobed particles remained dissociated in the simulation box. Subsequently, the temperature of the system was gradually cooled down through a sequential cooling protocol that allowed these particles to slowly nucleate and self-assemble into macrostructures with various morphologies, including spheres, cylinders, and faceted crystals. Our findings highlight how design modifications can direct self-assembly pathways, enabling control over material morphologies.