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Abstract
摘要 |
Dimension plays an important role in a phase transition. For instance, the melting of crystals in three-dimension (3D) is a first-order transition, but that in two-dimension (2D) could be a two-step Kosterliz-Thouless type transition [1]. The phase transition of the confined quasi-2D crystals is more complex. Hard spheres colloids confined by two parallel glass plates can self-assemble into thin crystal layers with square, triangle or buckling lattices [2-3]. Recent experiments suggest that a two-step nucleation occurs in the square-triangle solid-solid transition of confined hard spheres with the formation of liquid-like nucleus [4]. Using molecular simulations of the nucleation of confined hard spheres, the formation of liquid-like nucleus in the square-triangle solid-solid transition is confirmed in our simulations [5]. However, we found there is only one free energy barrier in the nucleation process. Furthermore, the nucleation mechanism is non-classical. The non-classical nucleation mechanism could explain the self-assembly of colloidal particles with complex shapes and the crystallization of protein [6].
[1] J. M. Kosterlitz and D. J. Thouless, J. Phys. C: Solid
State Phys. 6, 1181 (1973).
[2] M. Schemidt and H. Löwen, Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 4552 (1996)
[3] Andrea Fortini and Marjolein Dijkstra, Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, 18, L371 (2006)
[4] Y. Peng, F. Wang, Z. Wang, A. M. Alsayed, Z. Zhang, A. G. Yodh and Y. Han, Nature Materials, 14, 101 (2015)
[5] W. Qi, Y. Peng, Y. Han, R. K. Bowles, and M. Dijkstra, Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 185701(2015).
[6] P. R. ten Wolde and D. Frenkel, Science 277, 1975 (1997).
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