Hiding in Plain View: Colloidal Self-Assembly from Polydisperse Populations.
We report small-angle x-ray scattering experiments on aqueous dispersions of colloidal silica with a broad monomodal size distribution (polydispersity, 14%; size, 8 nm). Over a range of volume fractions, the silica particles segregate to build first one, then two distinct sets of colloidal crystals. These dispersions thus demonstrate fractional crystallization and multiple-phase (bcc, Laves AB_{2}, liquid) coexistence. Their remarkable ability to build complex crystal structures from a polydisperse population originates from the intermediate-range nature of interparticle forces, and it suggests routes for designing self-assembling colloidal crystals from the bottom up.
LCMD, CNRS UMR 8231, ESPCI, 10 rue Vauquelin, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France.
Bernard
B
Cabane
Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPIDS), 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
Joaquim
J
Li
Institut de Physique de Rennes, CNRS UMR 6251, Université Rennes 1, 35042 Rennes Cedex, France.
Franck
F
Artzner
Physique des Solides, CNRS UMR 8502, Université Paris-Sud, F-91405 Orsay, France.
Robert
R
Botet
ICB, CNRS UMR 6303, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, F-21078 Dijon, France.
Christophe
C
Labbez
ICB, CNRS UMR 6303, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, F-21078 Dijon, France.
Guillaume
G
Bareigts
ESRF-The European Synchrotron, CS40220, 38043 Grenoble Cedex 9, France.
Michael
M
Sztucki
Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPIDS), 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
Lucas
L
Goehring