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Stable smectic phase in suspensions of polydisperse colloidal platelets with identical thickness

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2009-10
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The American Physical Society
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Abstract
We report the nematic and smectic ordering in an aqueous suspension of monolayer α-Zirconium phosphate platelets possessing a high polydispersity in diameter but uniform thickness. We observe an isotropic-nematic transition as the platelet volume fraction increases, followed by the formation of a smectic, an elusive phase that has been rarely seen in discotic liquid crystals. The smectic phase is characterized by x-ray diffraction high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and optical microscopy. The phase equilibria in this highly polydisperse suspension are rationalized in terms of a theoretical approach based on density-functional theory.
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6 pages, 6 figures.-- PACS nrs.: 61.30.Eb, 64.70.M−, 81.16.Dn, 82.70.Dd.-- ArXiv pre-print available at: http://arxiv.org/abs/0909.2625
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[PACS] Experimental determinations of smectic, nematic, cholesteric, and other structures, [PACS] Transitions in liquid crystals, [PACS] Self-assembly, [PACS] Colloids
Bibliographic citation
Physical Review E 80, 041704 (2009)