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Patchy colloids

Entropy stabilizes open crystals

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Open crystalline configurations self-assembled from colloids with sticky patches have recently been shown to be unexpectedly stable. A theory that accounts for the entropy of the colloids' thermal fluctuations now explains why.

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Figure 1: The rotational 'rattle-room' of patchy colloids.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mike Cates is at the SUPA School of Physics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JZ, UK,

    Michael E. Cates

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  1. Michael E. Cates
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Correspondence to Michael E. Cates.

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Cates, M. Entropy stabilizes open crystals. Nature Mater 12, 179–180 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat3573

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