Experimental observation of fractionated crystallization in polydisperse platelike colloids.
We have discovered that the long-term aging of the hexagonal columnar liquid-crystal phase of polydisperse gibbsite platelets leads to fractionated crystallization, that is, to the formation of coexisting columnar crystals with different periods. This process was revealed by microradian X-ray diffraction demonstrating the splitting of the Bragg intercolumnar reflections into sequences of sharper reflections. The fractionated crystallization was observed in a number of samples of sterically stabilized as well as charge-stabilized polydisperse gibbsite platelets.
Byelov
D V
DV
Van't Hoff Laboratory for Physical and Colloid Chemistry, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands. dbyelov@gmail.com
Mourad
M C D
MC
Snigireva
I
I
Snigirev
A
A
Petukhov
A V
AV
Lekkerkerker
H N W
HN
D003102:Colloids / Q000737:chemistry*; D003460:Crystallization; D010316:Particle Size; D013499:Surface Properties
D003102:Colloids