(175b) Classical Density Functional Theory of Freezing Based On a Bridge Functional: Applications to Colloidal Systems

Colloidal phase transitions caused by long and short range interparticle interactions are important in various modern fabrication processes with applications in supercomputing, synthesis of proteins and nano/micro devices. We hereby explore classical Density Functional Theory as a tool for making predictions of freezing transitions in colloids. In our approach we show an extension of the traditional perturbative DFT approach that employs a closure relation in form of a bridge functional. The shape of this bridge functional is qualitatively and quantitatively different from other conventional closures like HNC, PY, MS, VM etc., which are known to give good results in inhomogeneous liquid states. For hard sphere potentials, the correct form of the bridge functional produces results as accurate as MC simulations. We further explore the uniqueness of this finding and apply this novel approach to predict phase transitions in colloidal systems with varying interparticle interactions.