Self-Assembly and Transport Phenomena of Colloids: Confinement and Geometrical Effects

Colloidal dispersions exhibit rich equilibrium and nonequilibrium thermodynamic properties, self-assemble into diverse structures at different length scales, and display transport behavior under bulk conditions. In confinement or under geometrical restrictions, new phenomena emerge that have no counterpart when the colloids are embedded in an open, noncurved space. In this review, we focus on the effects of confinement and geometry on the self-assembly and transport of colloids and fluidized granular systems, which serve as model systems. Our goal is to summarize experiments, theoretical approximations and molecular simulations that provide physical insight on the role played by the geometry at the mesoscopic scale. We highlight particular challenges, and show preliminary results based on the covariant Smoluchowski equation, that present promising avenues to study colloidal dynamics in a non-Euclidean geometry.