title: Destruction of long-range order recorded with in situ small-angle x-ray diffraction in drying colloidal crystals.
abstract: High-resolution synchrotron small-angle x-ray diffraction is applied to characterize the structure and long-range order in a sedimentary hard-sphere colloidal crystal before and during its drying. The principles of the technique and the influence of the coherence properties of the x-ray beam are discussed in detail. The capillary forces generated during the drying process are shown to destroy the long-range order and to break the crystal into smaller crystallites with slightly different orientations. The diffraction is shown to switch from the dynamic regime in the long-range-ordered crystal to nearly kinematic diffraction in the mosaic (short-range-ordered) crystal.
authors.affiliation: Van 't Hoff Laboratory for Physical and Colloid Chemistry, Debye Institute, University of Utrecht, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: A V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Petukhov
authors.forename: I P
authors.initials: IP
authors.lastname: Dolbnya
authors.forename: D G A L
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Aarts
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Vroege