Dr. Ethayaraja Mani

Van 't Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences
University of Amsterdam
Science Park 904
1098 XH Amsterdam

room: C2.219D
phone: (+31) 20 525 7019
E.Maniuva.nl

Research Interests

Crystallization of isotropic and patchy particles

Computer simulations on the crystallization of particles interacting via isotropic attractive interactions have confirmed the qualitative predictions of classical nucleation theory. Simulations support the theoretical assumption that the critical nucleus is a compact spherical cluster. We are interested in studying the effect of long-range repulsive interaction on the shape of the nucleus. We anticipate the competition between attractive and repulsive interactions would give rise to an anistropic nucleus, which may have dramatic consequences in the subsequent growth of the nuclues into a crystal. This study also aims to explain the interplay between nucleation and growth in the formation of anisotropic nanoparticles, colloidal crystals, etc.

As a complementary problem, we are intrested in studying the crystallization of attractive patchy particles. We try to understand how the distribution of patches, number and size of the patches would affect the mechanism of crystallization, and how this mechanism would be different from that of isotropic particles. As the distribution of patches allows only limited ways of arranging particles in a cluster, entropy is expected to play a vital role in dictating the shape of the nuclues. This study is motivated by the crystallization of several proteins, which can be described conveniently as patchy particles, that follow non-classical mechanisms.