(392e) Entropy Driven Solid—Solid Transitions in Colloids
AIChE Annual Meeting
2017
2017 Annual Meeting
Engineering Sciences and Fundamentals
Thermophysical Properties and Phase Behavior I
Tuesday, October 31, 2017 - 2:18pm to 2:39pm
 In classical, equilibrium statistical mechanics, entropy-driven order remains one of the most enigmatic phenomena. Although there is considerable work on entropy-driven fluid-solid transitions, the multiplicity of crystals that form in systems of hard, anisotropically shaped colloids suggests the possibility of studying entropy-driven solid-solid phase transitions. Here, we introduce a family of minimal model systems that exhibit solidâsolid phase transitions that are driven by changes in the shape of colloidal particles. We carry out a detailed investigation of the thermodynamics of a series of isochoric, diffusionless solidâsolid phase transitions within a single shape family, and find transitions that require thermal activation, or are âdiscontinuousâ, and transitions that occur without thermal activation, or are âcontinuousâ. Our results have direct implications for designing reconfiguration in soft materials, and our approach opens new avenues for the detailed study of the basic physics of solid-solid transitions, with potential applications in other areas of physics.