Order-Disorder Transitions and Thermal Pathways in Frustrated 2D Colloidal Crystals

AV Ilha and T Puccinelli and JR Bordin, BRAZILIAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICS, 55, 281 (2025).

DOI: 10.1007/s13538-025-01920-9

We employ extensive NPT molecular dynamics simulations to explore the thermal transitions of two-dimensional colloidal crystals interacting via a core-softened potential with competing length scales. The system stabilizes three distinct solid phases, namely low-density triangular (LDT), stripe, and kagome, which exhibit markedly different responses to heating and cooling. Our simulations reveal that the LDT and kagome phases melt via first-order transitions, but only the former recrystallizes smoothly. The kagome phase displays strong hysteresis and metastability, while the stripe phase undergoes a continuous and nearly reversible transformation. These results highlight the role of lattice geometry and frustration in shaping non-universal melting and freezing pathways in 2D soft matter.

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