Martensitic transition in a confined colloidal suspension

We describe a nonequilibrium phase transition in a geometrically confined charge-stabilized colloidal suspension. The equilibrium configuration for the spheres in this system is a two-layer square lattice, equivalent to two layers of a body-centered cubic (bcc) crystal. After electrophoretic shear m...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of chemical physics 1995-07, Vol.103 (3), p.1180-1190
Main Authors: Weiss, Jessica A., Oxtoby, David W., Grier, David G., Murray, Cherry A.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:We describe a nonequilibrium phase transition in a geometrically confined charge-stabilized colloidal suspension. The equilibrium configuration for the spheres in this system is a two-layer square lattice, equivalent to two layers of a body-centered cubic (bcc) crystal. After electrophoretic shear melting, the suspension rapidly crystallizes to a buckled single-layer triangular lattice. This well-ordered solid phase subsequently undergoes a martensitic phase transition back to the two-layer square lattice. We use high resolution digital video microscopy to follow the emergence and evolution of order during these phase transitions.
ISSN:0021-9606
1089-7690
DOI:10.1063/1.469828