title: Observation of a hexatic columnar liquid crystal of polydisperse colloidal disks.
abstract: We report the observation of a new type of columnar liquid crystal phase, which is formed by thin hard colloidal disks in a dense suspension. High-resolution small-angle x-ray diffraction reveals a combination of long-range bond-orientational order and short-range translational order between the columns, the hallmark of the hexatic phase. Our results imply that geometric frustration related to the size polydispersity of the particles destroys long-range translational order and therefore promotes the formation of this novel phase.
authors.affiliation: Van't Hoff Laboratory for Physical and Colloid Chemistry, Debye Institute, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: A V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Petukhov
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: van der Beek
authors.forename: R P A
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Dullens
authors.forename: I P
authors.initials: IP
authors.lastname: Dolbnya
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Vroege
authors.forename: H N W
authors.initials: HN
authors.lastname: Lekkerkerker