Self-Assembly Art

Self-Assembly refers to a spontaneous and reversible process by which a disordered system of pre-existing components organizes into structured, often intricate patterns - guided solely by local interactions among the components themselves, without external control. When the building blocks are molecular in nature, as in the interaction of pigments and solvents, the phenomenon is known as molecular self-assembly.

In Eric Gordon’s work, this principle is explored through his flat glass painting technique. Here, the components - inks, pigments, and solvents - are allowed to interact on a horizontal glass surface, giving rise to emergent forms governed by the inherent physical and chemical properties of the materials. The resulting compositions are captured as high-resolution prints at a moment of dynamic equilibrium, offering a visual translation of natural order arising from apparent chaos.

Self-assembly can be broadly categorized into static and dynamic types. In static self-assembly, an ordered structure emerges as the system approaches thermodynamic equilibrium, driven by a reduction in free energy. In contrast, dynamic self-assembly involves the formation of patterns from pre-existing components through specific local interactions. However, such dynamically evolving structures are often more accurately described as "self-organized" rather than "self-assembled," even though the two terms are frequently used interchangeably across disciplines.

The kinetics of self-assembly is typically governed by diffusion. The rate of adsorption or absorption often follows the Langmuir adsorption model, particularly in diffusion-limited regimes (e.g., dilute solutions). In such cases, the process can be approximated using Fick's laws of diffusion. Meanwhile, the desorption rate is influenced by the bond strength between surface molecules or atoms and is modulated by a thermal activation energy barrier. The overall growth rate of the assembled structure results from the competition between these adsorption and desorption processes.

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  4. Feedback driven autonomous cycles of assembly and disassembly from minimal building blocks

    Antara Reja, Sangam Jha, Ashley Sreejan, Sumit Pal, Subhajit Bal , Chetan Gadgil & Dibyendu Das 

    Nature Communications volume 15, Article number: 9980 (2024)