Effect of Patch Area and Interaction Length on Clusters and Structures Formed by One-Patch Particles in Thin Systems

[Image: see text] Assuming that the interaction between particles is given by the Kern–Frenkel potential, Monte Carlo simulations are performed to study the clusters and structures formed by one-patch particles in a thin space between two parallel walls. In isothermal–isochoric systems with a short interaction length, tetrahedral tetramers, octahedral hexamers, and pentagonal dipyramidal heptamers are created with increasing patch area. In isothermal–isobaric systems, the double layers of a triangular lattice, which is the (111) face of the face-centered cubic (fcc) lattice, form when the pressure is high. For a long interaction length, a different type of cluster, trigonal prismatic hexamers, is created. The structures in the double layers also changed as follows: a simple hexagonal lattice or square lattice, which is the (100) face of the fcc structure, is created in isothermal–isobaric systems.