Crystal structure of highly concentrated, ionic microgel suspensions studied by neutron scattering.
We present a neutron-scattering investigation of the crystal structure formed by pH -sensitive poly(2-vinylpyridine) microgel particles with 5 wt % of cross-linker. We focus on highly swollen particles and explore concentrations ranging from below close packing to well above close packing, where the particles are forced to shrink and/or interpenetrate. The crystal structure is found to be random hexagonal close packed, similar to the structure typically found in hard-sphere systems.
Gasser
U
U
Laboratory for Neutron Scattering, ETH Zurich & Paul Scherrer Institut, 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland. urs.gasser@psi.ch
Sierra-Martin
B
B
Fernandez-Nieves
A
A