title: Under-Liquid Self-Assembly of Submerged Buoyant Polymer Particles.
abstract: The self-assembly of submerged cold-plasma-treated polyethylene beads (PBs) is reported. The plasma-treated immersed millimetrically sized PBs formed well-ordered 2D quasicrystalline structures. The submerged floating of "light" (buoyant) PBs is possible because of the energy gain achieved by the wetting of the high-energy plasma-treated polymer surface prevailing over the energy loss due to the upward climb of the liquid over the beads. The capillary "immersion" attraction force is responsible for the observed self-assembly. The observed 2D quasicrystalline structures demonstrate "dislocations" and "point defects". The mechanical vibration of self-assembled rafts built of PBs leads to the healing of point defects. The immersion capillary lateral force governs the self-assembly, whereas the elastic force is responsible for the repulsion of polymer beads.
authors.affiliation: Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology Department, Ariel University , P.O. Box 3, 40700 Ariel, Israel.
authors.forename: Victor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Multanen
authors.affiliation: Physics Department, Natural Science Faculty, Ariel University , P.O. Box 3, 40700 Ariel, Israel.
authors.forename: Roman
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pogreb
authors.affiliation: Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology Department, Ariel University , P.O. Box 3, 40700 Ariel, Israel.|Physics Department, Natural Science Faculty, Ariel University , P.O. Box 3, 40700 Ariel, Israel.
authors.forename: Yelena
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bormashenko
authors.affiliation: Physics Department, Natural Science Faculty, Ariel University , P.O. Box 3, 40700 Ariel, Israel.
authors.forename: Evgeny
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Shulzinger
authors.affiliation: Physics Department, Natural Science Faculty, Ariel University , P.O. Box 3, 40700 Ariel, Israel.
authors.forename: Gene
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Whyman
authors.affiliation: Physics Department, Natural Science Faculty, Ariel University , P.O. Box 3, 40700 Ariel, Israel.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Frenkel
authors.affiliation: Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology Department, Ariel University , P.O. Box 3, 40700 Ariel, Israel.|Physics Department, Natural Science Faculty, Ariel University , P.O. Box 3, 40700 Ariel, Israel.
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bormashenko