Phase diagram of binary colloidal rod-sphere mixtures from a 3D real-space analysis of sedimentation-diffusion equilibria

Self-assembly of binary particle systems offers many new opportunities for materials science. Here, we studied sedimentation equilibria of silica rods and spheres, using quantitative 3D confocal microscopy. We determined not only pressure, density and order parameter profiles, but also the experimen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Soft matter 2016-01, Vol.12 (45), p.9238-9245
Main Authors: Bakker, Henriëtte E, Dussi, Simone, Droste, Barbera L, Besseling, Thijs H, Kennedy, Chris L, Wiegant, Evert I, Liu, Bing, Imhof, Arnout, Dijkstra, Marjolein, van Blaaderen, Alfons
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arrays
Binary systems (materials)
Confocal
Entropy
Microscopy
Phase diagrams
Sedimentation
Self assembly
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Summary:Self-assembly of binary particle systems offers many new opportunities for materials science. Here, we studied sedimentation equilibria of silica rods and spheres, using quantitative 3D confocal microscopy. We determined not only pressure, density and order parameter profiles, but also the experimental phase diagram exhibiting a stable binary smectic liquid-crystalline phase (Sm ). Using computer simulations we confirmed that the Sm -phase can be stabilized by entropy alone, which opens up the possibility of combining new materials properties at a wide array of length scales.
ISSN:1744-683X
1744-6848
DOI:10.1039/c6sm02162j