Mesoscopic solid structures of 11-nm maghemite, gamma-Fe2O3, nanocrystals: experiment and theory.
Solid structures made of collapsed cylinders organized in hexagonal, stripes and wavy line-like structures are fabricated by slow evaporation of maghemite nanocrystals dispersed in hexane and subjected to an applied field perpendicular to the substrate. The sizes of the experimental structures are well described by a theory based on the minimization of the total free energy. Comparison between experiment and theory shows that the structures are explained by a labyrinthine instability enabled by a colloidal liquid-gas phase transition during the evaporation process. From the theoretical model and experimental data, it is concluded that the height determines the radius of the cylinders, whereas the phase ratio of the magnetic to the total volume and the field strength have little influence under the conditions studied here.
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Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Laboratoire des Matériaux Mesoscopiques et Nanométriques, LM2N, U.M.R. 7070, BP 52, 4 place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France.
Richardi
J
J
Pileni
M P
MP