Nanoparticles functionalized by single strands of DNA have been shown to be highly customizable building blocks for self-assembled nano-structures, giving rise to complex networks that have very unusual phase diagrams. Specifically, the nanoparticles exhibit a phase diagram which contains three critical points; the presence of two critical points is rare in nature, but has been found in some natural substances like water. In this thesis, we use lattice models to examine which nearest neighbor interactions are important to generate multiple distinct phases. We show that the multiple critical points cannot be reproduced via limiting the number of bonding neighbors alone. Development of more complex lattice models that may include such behavior based on our results is ongoing.
"},{"label":"Degree","value":["Bachelor of Arts with Departmental Honors"]},{"label":"Author-supplied Keywords","value":["Limited valency","Bonding orientation","Phase behavior"]},{"label":"Administrative Note","value":"2008