Bending Energy-Driven Cooperative Patterning of 2D Colloids in Elastic 2D Fluids

Abstract

Suspensions of colloidal microplates in contoured 2D elastic fluids sheets are dominated by the bending mechanics and shear rigidity of the plates and the contrasting in-plane shear flow of the 2D fluid. Using the phase separated phospholipid membranes of individual giant unilamellar vesicles as models of contoured 2D suspensions, where solid domains act as colloids in a fluid membrane, we explore bending elasticity-driven assembly. The plate-shaped domains are varied between 1-10 {\mu}m in diameter, with 4-100 plates per vesicle depending on size, contributing a solid area of 17 plus minus 3%. Three classes of reversible plate arrangements evidence inter-plate attractions and repulsions: persistent hexagonal vesicle-encompassing quasi-lattices, persistent closely associated configurations (chains or concentrated lattices), and a dynamic disordered state. The vesicle-encompassing quasi-lattice is stable to vesicle dehydration by 30% relative to an inflated sphere. Excess area or membrane slack, for a fixed composition, dominates the preferred configuration while domain size and number contribute pattern intricacy. Different from the gradual variations in domain interactions and tunable positions in two-colloid systems, multibody interactions vary sharply within a particular range of excess area, producing cooperative assembly reminiscent of a phase transition.