Elasticity-mediated morphogenesis in interfacial colloidal assemblies during droplet evaporation

Abstract

We study the self-assembly of colloidal microgel particles at the quasi-two-dimensional air-water interface of a drying droplet. Using bright-field microscopy, we demonstrate that increasing particle elasticity drives interfacial organization from repulsion-stabilized crystallization to attraction-dominated gelation, via diverse metastable structures including clusters, voids and anisotropic aggregates. Molecular dynamics simulations, using an effective potential that captures the interplay between hydrophobic, capillary, steric and dipolar interactions, reproduce the overall phenomenology of the observed colloidal morphogenesis. Our findings establish particle elasticity as a key parameter governing non-equilibrium structural organization, phase separation and pattern formation of colloids at an interface.