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Crystal-to-Crystal Transitions in Binary Mixtures of Soft Colloids

Immink, Jasper N. LU ; Bergman, Maxime J. LU ; Maris, J. J.Erik ; Stenhammar, Joakim LU and Schurtenberger, Peter LU orcid (2020) In ACS Nano p.14861-14868
Abstract

In this article, we demonstrate a method for inducing reversible crystal-to-crystal transitions in binary mixtures of soft colloidal particles. Through a controlled decrease of salinity and increasingly dominating electrostatic interactions, a single sample is shown to reversibly organize into entropic crystals, electrostatic attraction-dominated crystals, or aggregated gels, which we quantify using microscopy and image analysis. We furthermore analyze crystalline structures with bond order analysis to discern between two crystal phases. We observe the different phases using a sample holder geometry that allows both in situ salinity control and imaging through confocal laser scanning microscopy and apply a synthesis method producing... (More)

In this article, we demonstrate a method for inducing reversible crystal-to-crystal transitions in binary mixtures of soft colloidal particles. Through a controlled decrease of salinity and increasingly dominating electrostatic interactions, a single sample is shown to reversibly organize into entropic crystals, electrostatic attraction-dominated crystals, or aggregated gels, which we quantify using microscopy and image analysis. We furthermore analyze crystalline structures with bond order analysis to discern between two crystal phases. We observe the different phases using a sample holder geometry that allows both in situ salinity control and imaging through confocal laser scanning microscopy and apply a synthesis method producing particles with high resolvability in microscopy with control over particle size. The particle softness provides for an enhanced crystallization speed, while altering the re-entrant melting behavior as compared to hard sphere systems. This work thus provides several tools for use in the reproducible manufacture and analysis of binary colloidal crystals.

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author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
binary colloidal crystals, colloidal particles, crystal transitions, phase transitions, soft colloids, tunable materials
in
ACS Nano
pages
14861 - 14868
publisher
The American Chemical Society (ACS)
external identifiers
  • pmid:33191738
  • scopus:85096562616
ISSN
1936-0851
DOI
10.1021/acsnano.0c03966
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
9abcc607-d7e6-4514-91ad-4739a82125d0
date added to LUP
2020-12-08 10:13:25
date last changed
2024-06-27 03:07:21
@article{9abcc607-d7e6-4514-91ad-4739a82125d0,
  abstract     = {{<p>In this article, we demonstrate a method for inducing reversible crystal-to-crystal transitions in binary mixtures of soft colloidal particles. Through a controlled decrease of salinity and increasingly dominating electrostatic interactions, a single sample is shown to reversibly organize into entropic crystals, electrostatic attraction-dominated crystals, or aggregated gels, which we quantify using microscopy and image analysis. We furthermore analyze crystalline structures with bond order analysis to discern between two crystal phases. We observe the different phases using a sample holder geometry that allows both in situ salinity control and imaging through confocal laser scanning microscopy and apply a synthesis method producing particles with high resolvability in microscopy with control over particle size. The particle softness provides for an enhanced crystallization speed, while altering the re-entrant melting behavior as compared to hard sphere systems. This work thus provides several tools for use in the reproducible manufacture and analysis of binary colloidal crystals.</p>}},
  author       = {{Immink, Jasper N. and Bergman, Maxime J. and Maris, J. J.Erik and Stenhammar, Joakim and Schurtenberger, Peter}},
  issn         = {{1936-0851}},
  keywords     = {{binary colloidal crystals; colloidal particles; crystal transitions; phase transitions; soft colloids; tunable materials}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{14861--14868}},
  publisher    = {{The American Chemical Society (ACS)}},
  series       = {{ACS Nano}},
  title        = {{Crystal-to-Crystal Transitions in Binary Mixtures of Soft Colloids}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.0c03966}},
  doi          = {{10.1021/acsnano.0c03966}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}