title: Stable smectic phase in suspensions of polydisperse colloidal platelets with identical thickness.
abstract: We report the nematic and smectic ordering in an aqueous suspension of monolayer alpha -Zirconium phosphate platelets possessing a high polydispersity in diameter but uniform thickness. We observe an isotropic-nematic transition as the platelet volume fraction increases, followed by the formation of a smectic, an elusive phase that has been rarely seen in discotic liquid crystals. The smectic phase is characterized by x-ray diffraction high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and optical microscopy. The phase equilibria in this highly polydisperse suspension are rationalized in terms of a theoretical approach based on density-functional theory.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, USA.
authors.forename: Dazhi
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Hung-Jue
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Sue
authors.forename: Zhengdong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Yuri
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Martínez-Ratón
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Velasco