Abstract
We present a numerical technique, namely, triangular tessellation, to calculate the free energy associated
with the adsorption of a colloidal particle at a flat interface. The theory and numerical scheme presented here
are sufficiently general to handle nonconvex patchy colloids with arbitrary surface patterns characterized by a
wetting angle, e.g., amphiphilicity. We ignore interfacial deformation due to capillary, electrostatic, or gravitational
forces, but the method can be extended to take such effects into account. It is verified that the
numerical method presented is accurate and sufficiently stable to be applied to more general situations than
presented in this paper. The merits of the tessellation method prove to outweigh those of traditionally used
semianalytic approaches, especially when it comes to generality and applicability.
Original language | Undefined/Unknown |
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Pages (from-to) | 051405-1-051405-19 |
Number of pages | 19 |
Journal | Physical Review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics |
Volume | 80 |
Publication status | Published - 2009 |