Self-Assembly Kinetics of Colloidal Liquid Crystals

Nematic colloids’ ability to interact through topological defects and form self-assembled structures provides a pathway for engineering novel soft nanotechnology. In this work, we employ a nematic Multi-Particle Collision Dynamics (MPCD) algorithm to simulate the self-assembly of such structures. Since MPCD-based algorithms intrinsically contain fluid flow and stochastic thermal noise, we are able to predict the kinetics of colloid-colloid interactions via the probability of passing through metastable configurations and rate of successful self-assembly. Our results reproduce the equilibrium zig-zag and linear-chained colloidal structures observed in experiments. By studying the influence of anchoring on the surface of the colloid, we show that defects play a crucial role on the creation of equilibrium structures and kinetic pathways. Our findings map the underlying mechanisms and timescales involved in the self-assembly process, indicating design principles for engineering rapidly assembling structures.