title: Effect of crystallization rate and colloidal stability on structural rearrangements during growth of colloidal monolayers.
abstract: The structural rearrangements during growth of colloidal crystals were investigated using a combination of light microscopy and image analysis based on a Delaunay triangulation procedure. We followed the creation and disappearance of square lattice domains during the convection-promoted formation of colloidal monolayers by drying. We found that the concentration of square lattice domains increased with the crystal growth rate and that there is a direct relation between the concentration of square lattice domains formed at the crystal-suspension interface and the lower concentration of these domains in the colloidal monolayer; hence, the degree of rearrangement from square lattice domains to a close-packed triangular structure is not significantly affected by the crystal growth rate for colloidally stable suspensions. The colloidal stability, manipulated by the addition of salt, has a profound influence on the structural features of the growing monolayers. Particles that adhere strongly to each other, and to the substrate, tend to resist rearrangement; hence, the defect density is high in the colloidal monolayers and the structural reorganization of the square lattice domains to the more stable close-packed triangular structure occurred gradually over large distances from the crystal-suspension interface.
authors.affiliation: Ytkemiska Institutet AB, Institute for Surface Chemistry, Box 5607, 114 86, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rödner
authors.forename: Lennart
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bergström