Emergent localization phenomena in polymer-induced orientation in confined spherical compartments.

Abstract

In nanomaterials and microreactor technology, the intricate phenomena of localization, that is, the inhomogeneous spatial distribution of a physical property, serve as a booster for advancing innovative applications. In this work, we show from simple physical arguments that such spatial segregation can be spontaneously produced in mixtures of silver nanowires and DNA solution confined inside microdroplets. In particular, a reversible quadrupolar redistribution of the particles can be obtained by applying low frequency electric fields. As a consequence, the localization of the electro-orientation of the particles appears, which is induced by the interplay between the steric repulsion of the nanowires, the electrically stretched DNA coils, and the microdroplet wall, together with the DNA mediated depletion effects. We show, both experimentally and via Monte Carlo simulations, that particle segregation results in a decrease of the overall particle alignment.