A. Wouterse

Bio: A. Wouterse is an academic researcher from Fundamental Research on Matter Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics. The author has contributed to research in topics: Colloidal crystal & Deposition (phase transition). The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 1 publications receiving 95 citations.

Complex plasmas: An interdisciplinary research field

Abstract: Complex (dusty) plasmas are composed of a weakly ionized gas and charged microparticles and represent the plasma state of soft matter. Complex plasmas have several remarkable features: Dynamical time scales associated with microparticles are ``stretched'' to tens of milliseconds, yet the microparticles themselves can be easily visualized individually. Furthermore, since the background gas is dilute, the particle dynamics in strongly coupled complex plasmas is virtually undamped, which provides a direct analogy to regular liquids and solids in terms of the atomistic dynamics. Finally, complex plasmas can be easily manipulated in different ways---also at the level of individual particles. Altogether, this gives us a unique opportunity to go beyond the limits of continuous media and study---at the kinetic level---various generic processes occurring in liquids or solids, in regimes ranging from the onset of cooperative phenomena to large strongly coupled systems. In the first part of the review some of the basic and new physics are highlighted which complex plasmas enable us to study, and in the second (major) part strong coupling phenomena in an interdisciplinary context are examined. The connections with complex fluids are emphasized and a number of generic liquid and solid-state issues are addressed. In summary, application oriented research is discussed.

Tunable colloids: control of colloidal phase transitions with tunable interactions

Abstract: Systems of spherical colloidal particles mimic the thermodynamics of atomic crystals. Control of interparticle interactions in colloids, which has recently begun to be extensively exploited, gives rise to rich phase behaviours as well as crystal structures with nanoscale and micron-scale lattice spacings. This provides model systems in which to study fundamental problems in condensed matter physics, such as the dynamics of crystal nucleation and melting, and the nature of the glass transition, at experimentally accessible lengthscales and timescales. Tunable control of these interactions provides reversible control. This will enable quantitative studies of phase transition kinetics as well as the creation of advanced materials with switchability of function and properties.

Colloidal assembly directed by virtual magnetic moulds

Abstract: Interest in assemblies of colloidal particles has long been motivated by their applications in photonics, electronics, sensors and microlenses. Existing assembly schemes can position colloids of one type relatively flexibly into a range of desired structures, but it remains challenging to produce multicomponent lattices, clusters with precisely controlled symmetries and three-dimensional assemblies. A few schemes can efficiently produce complex colloidal structures, but they require system-specific procedures. Here we show that magnetic field microgradients established in a paramagnetic fluid can serve as 'virtual moulds' to act as templates for the assembly of large numbers (∼10(8)) of both non-magnetic and magnetic colloidal particles with micrometre precision and typical yields of 80 to 90 per cent. We illustrate the versatility of this approach by producing single-component and multicomponent colloidal arrays, complex three-dimensional structures and a variety of colloidal molecules from polymeric particles, silica particles and live bacteria and by showing that all of these structures can be made permanent. In addition, although our magnetic moulds currently resemble optical traps in that they are limited to the manipulation of micrometre-sized objects, they are massively parallel and can manipulate non-magnetic and magnetic objects simultaneously in two and three dimensions.

Shape Induced Symmetry in Self-Assembled Mesocrystals of Iron Oxide Nanocubes

Abstract: Grazing incidence small-angle scattering and electron microscopy have been used to show for the first time that nonspherical nanoparticles can assemble into highly ordered body-centered tetragonal mesocrystals. Energy models accounting for the directionality and magnitude of the van der Waals and dipolar interactions as a function of the degree of truncation of the nanocubes illustrated the importance of the directional dipolar forces for the formation of the initial nanocube clusters and the dominance of the van der Waals multibody interactions in the dense packed arrays.

Structure direction of II-VI semiconductor quantum dot binary nanoparticle superlattices by tuning radius ratio.

Abstract: We report a nanoparticle radius ratio dependent study of the formation of binary nanoparticle superlattices (BNSLs) of CdTe and CdSe quantum dots. While keeping all other parameters identical in the system, the effective nanoparticle radius ratio, γeff, was tuned to allow the formation of five different BNSL structures, AlB2, cub-NaZn13, ico-NaZn13, CaCu5, and MgZn2. For each structure, γeff is located close to a local maximum of its space-filling factor, based on a model for space filling principles. We demonstrate the ability to select specific BNSLs based solely on γeff, highlighting the role of entropic forces as a driver for self-assembly.