Thin films formed on surfaces of solids due to adsorption of colloidal particles are becoming increasingly popular for their unique optical, optoelectronic, and magnetic properties as well as possible interactions with biological systems. One of major challenges is their use in production of advanced functional materials.

In their newest article on those systems, Zbigniew Koza and Grzegorz Kondrat study theoretical properties of one of the most widely used numerical models of adsorption, RSA (random sequential adsorption). In this model, along with adsorption of subsequent particles, occur two characteristic phenomena: percolation (formation of an infinite lattice that could e.g. conduct current through the entire layer of deposited colloid) and jamming (no space for subsequent particles).

Our employees proved that if molecules are shaped like linear polymers while the surface has a square or triangular lattice structure, then jamming is always preceded by percolation. They extended their thesis to cubic and hypercubic network models as well.