Equilibrium adsorption and self-assembly of patchy colloids in microchannels.

A theory is developed to describe the equilibrium adsorption and self-assembly of patchy colloids in microchannels. The adsorption theory is developed in classical density functional theory, with the adsorbed phase and fluid phase chemical potentials modeled using thermodynamic perturbation theory. Adsorption of nonpatchy colloids in microchannels is typically achieved through nonequilibrium routes such as spin coating and evaporation. These methods are required due to the entropic penalty of adsorption. In this work we propose that the introduction of patches on the colloids greatly enhances the temperature dependent and reversible adsorption of colloids in microchannels. It is shown how bulk fluid density, temperature, patch size, and channel diameter can be manipulated to achieve the adsorption and self-assembly of patchy colloids in microchannels.