Flow-Induced Quasicrystal Assembly of Spherical Colloids

The discovery of quasicrystalline structure in soft-matter systems has sparked significant interests in the search for exotic morphologies that can be accessible via self-assembly processes. However, due to the complexity associated with their structural orderings, kinetic traps often serve as the limiting factor in accessing equilibrium quasicrystalline particle configurations. In this study, we developed a computational algorithm to enable rapid simulation of flow-induced assembly of colloid spheres of varying sizes, validated with experiments. We show that such a protocol bypasses kinetic effects to produce quasicrystalline co-assemblies of spherical particles by fluidizing smaller spheres within the system, thereby allowing them to rapidly reorganize around kinetic clusters. Our study emphasizes the importance of flow fields in regulating co-crystallization of polydisperse systems, promoting reliable access to more complex structural ordering in soft matter systems.