Liquid-liquid phase separation driven by charge heterogeneity

Abstract

Globular proteins as well as recently synthesized colloids engineered with differently charged surface regions have in common a reduced bonding valence and a complex interaction pattern dominated by like-charge attraction and opposite-charge repulsion. While the impact of low functionality on the condensation of the liquid phase has been extensively studied, the combined effect of limited bonding valence and particle charge heterogeneity on the liquid-liquid phase separation has not been investigated yet. We numerically tackle this challenge in a systematic fashion by taking advantage of an efficient coarse-grained model grounded into a robust mean-field description. We consider a relatively simple surface pattern consisting of two charged polar caps and an oppositely charged equatorial belt and investigate how the interplay between geometry and electrostatics affect the critical point parameters. We find that electrostatics has a dramatic effect on the condensation of the liquid phase -- especially in the regime of large polar caps.