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Hiding in Plain View: Colloidal Self-Assembly from Polydisperse Populations

Bernard Cabane, Joaquim Li, Franck Artzner, Robert Botet, Christophe Labbez, Guillaume Bareigts, Michael Sztucki, and Lucas Goehring
Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 208001 – Published 20 May 2016
Physics logo See Focus story: Complex Crystals Form from Heterogeneous Particles
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Abstract

We report small-angle x-ray scattering experiments on aqueous dispersions of colloidal silica with a broad monomodal size distribution (polydispersity, 14%; size, 8 nm). Over a range of volume fractions, the silica particles segregate to build first one, then two distinct sets of colloidal crystals. These dispersions thus demonstrate fractional crystallization and multiple-phase (bcc, Laves AB2, liquid) coexistence. Their remarkable ability to build complex crystal structures from a polydisperse population originates from the intermediate-range nature of interparticle forces, and it suggests routes for designing self-assembling colloidal crystals from the bottom up.

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  • Received 8 November 2015

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.208001

© 2016 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

  1. Research Areas
  1. Physical Systems
Polymers & Soft Matter

Focus

Key Image

Complex Crystals Form from Heterogeneous Particles

Published 20 May 2016

A suspension containing particles with wide-ranging diameters can crystallize into multiple ordered structures.

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Authors & Affiliations

Bernard Cabane1,*, Joaquim Li2, Franck Artzner3, Robert Botet4, Christophe Labbez5, Guillaume Bareigts5, Michael Sztucki6, and Lucas Goehring2,†

  • 1LCMD, CNRS UMR 8231, ESPCI, 10 rue Vauquelin, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France
  • 2Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPIDS), 37077 Göttingen, Germany
  • 3Institut de Physique de Rennes, CNRS UMR 6251, Université Rennes 1, 35042 Rennes Cedex, France
  • 4Physique des Solides, CNRS UMR 8502, Université Paris–Sud, F-91405 Orsay, France
  • 5ICB, CNRS UMR 6303, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, F-21078 Dijon, France
  • 6ESRF—The European Synchrotron, CS40220, 38043 Grenoble Cedex 9, France

  • *bernard.cabane@espci.fr
  • lucas.goehring@ds.mpg.de

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Issue

Vol. 116, Iss. 20 — 20 May 2016

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