Crystallization Kinetics of Thermosensitive Colloids Probed by Transmission Spectroscopy Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • The kinetics of crystallization of poly-N-isopropylacrylamide (PNIPAM) particles has been investigated using the UV-visible transmission spectroscopy. Since the particle size decreases with the increase in temperature, microgel dispersions of different volume fractions have been obtained by varying the temperature of a single sample. It is found that the rates of the change in crystallinity, the average crystallite size, and the number density of crystallites at the most rapid stage over a certain time interval at various temperatures can be described by the power-law relations. At 19 degrees C, the PNIPAM system behaves as a hard sphere system under microgravity. The hard sphere theory based on Monte Carlo simulation has been used as a reference point to compare with conventional hard spheres, soft spheres, and PNIPAM spheres.

author list (cited authors)

  • Tang, S., Hu, Z., Cheng, Z., & Wu, J.

complete list of authors

  • Tang, Shijun||Hu, Zhibing||Cheng, Zhengdong||Wu, Jianzhong

publication date

  • January 2004