Liquid-solid transition in a model hard sphere system of block copolymer micelles.
The transition between micellar liquid and face-centered-cubic crystalline solid in a solution of an amphiphilic diblock copolymer is investigated by small-angle x-ray scattering and rheology. The system is well described by the hard sphere model and there is no evidence for percolation driven by attractive interactions, in contrast to previous reports. Instead, a coexistence region separates liquid and crystal phases.
Castelletto
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Department of Chemistry, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom.
Caillet
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Hamley
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IW
Yang
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Z