Predicting self-assembled patterns on spheres with multi-component coatings

Interactions between the components in many-body systems can give rise to spontaneous formation of complex structures. Usually very little is known about the connection between the interactions and the resulting structure. Here we present a theory for self-assembling pattern formation in multi-component systems, formulated as an analytic technique that predicts morphologies directly from the interactions in an effective model. As a demonstration we apply the method to a model of alkanethiols on spherical gold particles, successfully predicting its morphologies and transitions as a function of the interaction parameters. This system is interesting because it has been suggested to provide an effective route to produce patchy colloids.