Stable smectic phase in suspensions of polydisperse colloidal platelets with identical thickness. Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • We report the nematic and smectic ordering in an aqueous suspension of monolayer alpha -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.

published proceedings

  • Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys

author list (cited authors)

  • Sun, D., Sue, H., Cheng, Z., Martnez-Ratn, Y., & Velasco, E.

citation count

  • 64

complete list of authors

  • Sun, Dazhi||Sue, Hung-Jue||Cheng, Zhengdong||Martínez-Ratón, Yuri||Velasco, Enrique

publication date

  • October 2009