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 , 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.
- Received 8 November 2015
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.208001
© 2016 American Physical Society
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
Focus
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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