Chetana Singh1, Pradip K. Ghorai2, Mark A. Horsch3, Alicia M. Jackson4, Francesco Stellacci4, and Sharon C. Glotzer1. (1) Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2136, (2) Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, 2300 Hayward St., 3074 H.H. Dow Building, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, (3) Dept. of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, 2300 Hayward Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2136, (4) Department of Materials Science and Engineering, MIT, Cambridge, 02139
We perform atomistic and mesoscale simulations to explain the origin of experimentally-observed stripe-like patterns formed by immiscible ligands co-adsorbed on the surfaces of Au and Ag nanoparticles. We show that when the conformational entropy gained via this morphology is sufficient, microphase-separated stripe-like patterns form rather than bulk phase separation. We also show corroborating experimental results that confirm our simulational predictions that this motif extends to flat surfaces as well as curved nanoparticle surfaces.