Seminar of the ICMP

I have considered models of patchy colloids consisting of hard sphere

particles decorated by a small number of identical short-ranged attractive

sites arranged in regular geometries on the particle surface. I have used

these simple models to numerically and theoretically explore phenomena such as

the formation of ideal gels or so-called empty liquids.

By combining the Wertheim theory for association and the Flory-Stockmayer

approach of chemical gelation, I have developed an analytical parameter-free

description for the equilibrium behavior of patchy systems, which I have also

validated via comparisons with extensive Monte Carlo simulations in various

ensembles, focusing on the region of the phase diagram where colloid

poor-colloid rich phase separation, network formation and clustering take place.