Nematic Ordering of Suspensions of Charged Anisotropic Colloids Detected by 23Na Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

A detailed line shape analysis of 23Na nuclear magnetic resonance spectra within dense suspensions (12% vol/vol) of Laponite clay exhibits a macroscopic ordering of these charged anisotropic colloids within a nematic phase. The angular variation of the order parameter limits to 20% of the maximum am...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The journal of physical chemistry. B 2001-11, Vol.105 (43), p.10505-10514
Main Authors: Porion, P, Al Mukhtar, M, Meyer, S, Faugère, A. M, van der Maarel, J. R. C, Delville, A
Format: Article
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:A detailed line shape analysis of 23Na nuclear magnetic resonance spectra within dense suspensions (12% vol/vol) of Laponite clay exhibits a macroscopic ordering of these charged anisotropic colloids within a nematic phase. The angular variation of the order parameter limits to 20% of the maximum amount of disorder in these dense suspensions. By contrast, dilute Laponite suspensions (1−4% vol/vol) remain isotropic while the variation of 23Na relaxation rates over a broad range of frequencies indicates a local ordering of the clay platelets within microdomains of the same spatial extent than the particle diameter (300 Å).
ISSN:1520-6106
1520-5207
DOI:10.1021/jp0104738