结晶、玻璃化以及有序和无序的关联

Being the two extremes of the liquid-solid transition, crystallization and glass transition are cutting-edge topics of physical, chemical, materials, and biological sciences. In particular, the nature of the glass transition is a long-standing unsolved problem of condensed matter physics. This project will take the soft matter systems of colloids as the object of study. We will employ molecular simulations and experiments to study the crystallization, glass transition, and the deep connection possible existing between order and disorder, from perspectives of the structure, dynamics, and thermodynamics. The project has two major targets, comparing the microscopic kinetic pathways of the crystallization and glass transition, and understanding the transitions from order to disorder. Specifically, we will study the formation and frustration of the nucleation precursors, the influence of the boundary on the kinetic pathways of crystallization and glass transition, the transition from crystallization to glass transition, the transition in solids from crystals to disordered crystals, and the transition from close packing to random close packing. The project is designed based on our long-term study of the crystallization and glass transition. It contains creative ideas, contents, methods, and techniques. We aim at investigate the nature of the glass transition from new perspectives, along with the deepening of our understanding of order and disorder.

结晶和玻璃化作为液-固转变的两个极端，一直以来都是物理、化学、材料、生物等学科研究的前沿课题，尤其是玻璃化转变，其本质是长期困扰凝聚态物理学的难题。本项目以软物质胶体体系为主要研究对象，结合分子模拟和实验，从结构、动力学、热力学等多个角度全方位深入探讨结晶和玻璃化、有序和无序之间可能存在的深层次关联。整个研究包含两个大方向：结晶和玻璃化微观动力学路径的比较和有序-无序转变。具体包括结晶前驱体的形成和受阻机理、边界对结晶和玻璃化微观路径的影响、结晶到玻璃化转变的演变、固体中存在的晶体-无序晶体转变、密堆积和随机密堆积之间的演变等研究内容。本项目基于研究组对结晶和玻璃化相关研究的长期积累，在研究思路、内容和技术方法等方面都有创新，将在深化对有序和无序认识的同时，尝试从新的视角探讨玻璃化转变的本质。