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Xie SD, Cai XY, Wu HB, Wang Q, Guo ZR, Chen ZY, Ma CS. Effect of internal phase particle size on properties of site mixed emulsion explosive at plateau environment. Sci Rep 2024; 14:8549. [PMID: 38609459 PMCID: PMC11014911 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-59215-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2023] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024] Open
Abstract
To study the effect of internal particle size on the microstructure properties and thermal decomposition characteristics of site mixed emulsion explosive at different altitudes. Site mixed emulsion explosive was prepared with different shear rate. The particle size, viscosity, sensitized bubbles, detonation velocity and peak pressure of the emulsion explosive were tested after stored at different simulated altitudes. The thermal decomposition characteristics of emulsion matrix prepared at three different rotational speeds were measured by thermogravimetric analyzer and kinetic analysis was performed by non-isothermal model Kissinger-Akah-Sunose (KAS) method. The results show that with the increase in altitude, the internal phase size showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing, and the number of sensitized bubbles within the emulsion explosive decreases. At an altitude of 0 m, the detonation velocity and peak overpressure of the emulsion explosive prepared by 1600 r min-1 increased 4.78% and 29.09%, respectively compared with 1200 r min-1, and at an altitude of 4500 m, the detonation velocity increased 11.87%, the peak overpressure increased 43.98%. The thermal decomposition activation energy of the emulsion matrix at 1600 r min-1 increased 13.14% compared to 1200 r min-1. It shows that in the production of site mixed emulsion explosive at high altitude, reducing the particle size of the internal phase of emulsion explosives in a certain range can effectively improve the performance of emulsion explosives.
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Affiliation(s)
- S D Xie
- School of Architecture and Construction, Anhui University of Science & Technology, Huainan, 232001, China
| | - X Y Cai
- School of Chemical and Blasting Engineering, Anhui University of Science & Technology, Huainan, 232001, China
| | - H B Wu
- School of Chemical and Blasting Engineering, Anhui University of Science & Technology, Huainan, 232001, China.
| | - Q Wang
- School of Chemical and Blasting Engineering, Anhui University of Science & Technology, Huainan, 232001, China
| | - Z R Guo
- School of Chemical and Blasting Engineering, Anhui University of Science & Technology, Huainan, 232001, China
| | - Z Y Chen
- School of Chemical and Blasting Engineering, Anhui University of Science & Technology, Huainan, 232001, China
| | - C S Ma
- School of Chemical and Blasting Engineering, Anhui University of Science & Technology, Huainan, 232001, China
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Kim J, Wang Z, Lahlil K, Davidson P, Gacoin T, Kim J. Charge-driven liquid-crystalline behavior of ligand-functionalized nanorods in apolar solvent. THE EUROPEAN PHYSICAL JOURNAL. E, SOFT MATTER 2023; 46:86. [PMID: 37747573 DOI: 10.1140/epje/s10189-023-00345-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2023] [Accepted: 09/05/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023]
Abstract
Concentrated colloidal suspensions of nanorods often exhibit liquid-crystalline (LC) behavior. The transition to a nematic LC phase, with long-range orientational order of the particles, is usually well-captured by Onsager's theory for hard rods, at least qualitatively. The theory shows how the volume fraction at the transition decreases with increasing aspect ratio of the rods. It also explains that the long-range electrostatic repulsive interaction occurring between rods stabilized by their surface charge can significantly increase their effective diameter, resulting in a decrease in the volume fraction at the transition, as compared to sterically stabilized rods. Here, we report on a system of ligand-stabilized LaPO4 nanorods, of aspect ratio ≈ 11, dispersed in apolar medium exhibiting the counter-intuitive observation that the onset of nematic self-assembly occurs at an extremely low volume fraction of ≈ 0.25%, which is lower than observed (≈ 3%) with the same particles when charged-stabilized in polar solvent. Furthermore, the nanorod volume fraction at the transition increases with increasing concentration of ligands, in a similar way as in polar media where increasing the ionic strength leads to surface charge screening. This peculiar system was investigated by dynamic light scattering, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, zetametry, electron microscopy, polarized light microscopy, photoluminescence measurements, and X-ray scattering. Based on these experimental data, we formulate several tentative scenarios that might explain this unexpected phase behavior. However, at this stage, its full understanding remains a pending theoretical challenge. Nevertheless, this study shows that dispersing anisotropic nanoparticles in an apolar solvent may sometimes lead to spontaneous ordering events that defy our intuitive ideas about colloidal systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeongmo Kim
- Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Condensée, CNRS, École Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, 91128, Palaiseau, France
| | - Zijun Wang
- Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Condensée, CNRS, École Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, 91128, Palaiseau, France
| | - Khalid Lahlil
- Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Condensée, CNRS, École Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, 91128, Palaiseau, France
| | - Patrick Davidson
- Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, 91405, Orsay Cedex, France.
| | - Thierry Gacoin
- Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Condensée, CNRS, École Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, 91128, Palaiseau, France.
| | - Jongwook Kim
- Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Condensée, CNRS, École Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, 91128, Palaiseau, France.
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Mirzad Rafael E, Corbett D, Cuetos A, Patti A. Self-assembly of freely-rotating polydisperse cuboids: unveiling the boundaries of the biaxial nematic phase. SOFT MATTER 2020; 16:5565-5570. [PMID: 32539067 DOI: 10.1039/d0sm00484g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Colloidal cuboids have the potential to self-assemble into biaxial liquid crystal phases, which exhibit two independent optical axes. Over the last few decades, several theoretical works have predicted the existence of a wide region of the phase diagram where the biaxial nematic phase would be stable, but imposed rather strong constraints on the particle rotational degrees of freedom. In this work, we use molecular simulation to investigate the impact of size dispersity on the phase behaviour of freely-rotating hard cuboids, here modelled as self-dual-shaped nanoboards. This peculiar anisotropy, exactly in between the oblate and prolate geometry, has been proposed as the most appropriate to promote phase biaxiality. We observe that size dispersity radically changes the phase behaviour of monodisperse systems and leads to the formation of an elusive biaxial nematic phase, being found in a large region of the packing fraction vs. polydispersity phase diagram. Although our results confirm the tendencies reported in past experimental observations on colloidal dispersions of slightly prolate goethite particles, they cannot reproduce the direct isotropic-to-biaxial nematic phase transition observed in these experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Effran Mirzad Rafael
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.
| | - Daniel Corbett
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.
| | - Alejandro Cuetos
- Department of Physical, Chemical and Natural Systems, Pablo de Olavide University, 41013 Sevilla, Spain
| | - Alessandro Patti
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.
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Fernández-Rico C, Yanagishima T, Curran A, Aarts DGAL, Dullens RPA. Synthesis of Colloidal SU-8 Polymer Rods Using Sonication. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2019; 31:e1807514. [PMID: 30869177 DOI: 10.1002/adma.201807514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2018] [Revised: 02/11/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
The bulk synthesis of fluorescent colloidal SU-8 polymer rods with tunable dimensions is described. The colloidal SU-8 rods are prepared by shearing an emulsion of SU-8 polymer droplets and then exposing the resulting non-Brownian rods to ultrasonic waves, which breaks them into colloidal rods with typical lengths of 3.5-10 µm and diameters of 0.4-1 µm. The rods are stable in both aqueous and apolar solvents, and by varying the composition of apolar solvent mixtures both the difference in refractive index and mass density between particles and solvent can be independently controlled. Consequently, these colloidal SU-8 rods can be used in both 3D confocal microscopy and optical trapping experiments while carefully tuning the effect of gravity. This is demonstrated by using confocal microscopy to image the liquid crystalline phases and the isotropic-nematic interface formed by the colloidal SU-8 rods and by optically trapping single rods in water. Finally, the simultaneous confocal imaging and optical manipulation of multiple SU-8 rods in the isotropic phase is shown.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carla Fernández-Rico
- Department of Chemistry Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QZ, UK
| | - Taiki Yanagishima
- Department of Chemistry Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QZ, UK
| | - Arran Curran
- Department of Chemistry Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QZ, UK
| | - Dirk G A L Aarts
- Department of Chemistry Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QZ, UK
| | - Roel P A Dullens
- Department of Chemistry Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QZ, UK
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Yang Y, Chen G, Thanneeru S, He J, Liu K, Nie Z. Synthesis and assembly of colloidal cuboids with tunable shape biaxiality. Nat Commun 2018; 9:4513. [PMID: 30375393 PMCID: PMC6207716 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-06975-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2018] [Accepted: 10/01/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The design and assembly of monodisperse colloidal particles not only advances the development of functional materials, but also provides colloidal model systems for understanding phase behaviors of molecules. This communication describes the gram-scale synthesis of highly uniform colloidal cuboids with tunable dimension and shape biaxiality and their molecular mesogen-like assembly into various mesophasic structures in pristine purity. The synthesis relies on the nanoemulsion-guided generation of ammonium sulfate crystals that template the subsequent silica coating. The shape of the cuboidal particles can be tuned from square platelike, to biaxial boardlike, and to rodlike by independently controlling the length, width and thickness of the particles. We demonstrated the assembly of the cuboidal colloids into highly pure mesoscopic liquid crystal phases, including smectic A, biaxial smectic A, crystal B, discotic, and columnar phases, as well as established a correlation between mesophasic formation and colloidal biaxiality in experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Yang
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA
- State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, China
| | - Guangdong Chen
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA
| | - Srinivas Thanneeru
- Department of Chemistry, Institute of Materials Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA
| | - Jie He
- Department of Chemistry, Institute of Materials Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA
| | - Kun Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, China.
| | - Zhihong Nie
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA.
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Rufeil-Fiori E, Banchio AJ. Domain size polydispersity effects on the structural and dynamical properties in lipid monolayers with phase coexistence. SOFT MATTER 2018; 14:1870-1878. [PMID: 29457809 DOI: 10.1039/c7sm02099f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
In lipid monolayers with phase coexistence, domains of the liquid-condensed phase always present size polydispersity. However, very few theoretical works consider size distribution effects on the monolayer properties. Because of the difference in surface densities, domains have excess dipolar density with respect to the surrounding liquid expanded phase, originating a dipolar inter-domain interaction. This interaction depends on the domain area, and hence the presence of a domain size distribution is associated with interaction polydispersity. Inter-domain interactions are fundamental to understanding the structure and dynamics of the monolayer. For this reason, it is expected that polydispersity significantly alters monolayer properties. By means of Brownian dynamics simulations, we study the radial distribution function (RDF), the average mean square displacement and the average time-dependent self-diffusion coefficient, D(t), of lipid monolayers with normally distributed size domains. For this purpose, we vary the relevant system parameters, polydispersity and interaction strength, within a range of experimental interest. We also analyze the consequences of using a monodisperse model to determine the interaction strength from an experimental RDF. We find that polydispersity strongly affects the value of the interaction strength, which is greatly underestimated if polydispersity is not considered. However, within a certain range of parameters, the RDF obtained from a polydisperse model can be well approximated by that of a monodisperse model, by suitably fitting the interaction strength, even for 40% polydispersities. For small interaction strengths or small polydispersities, the polydisperse systems obtained from fitting the experimental RDF have an average mean square displacement and D(t) in good agreement with that of the monodisperse system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Rufeil-Fiori
- Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Facultad de Matemática, Astronomía, Física y Computación, Córdoba, Argentina.
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7
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Sonin AS, Churochkina NA, Kaznacheev AV, Golovanov AV. Mineral liquid crystals. COLLOID JOURNAL 2017. [DOI: 10.1134/s1061933x17040159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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Heckendorf D, Mutch KJ, Egelhaaf SU, Laurati M. Size-Dependent Localization in Polydisperse Colloidal Glasses. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2017; 119:048003. [PMID: 29341743 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.119.048003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
We have investigated concentrated suspensions of polydisperse hard spheres and have determined the dynamics and sizes of individual particles using confocal microscopy. With increasing concentration, the dynamics of the small and large particles start to differ. The large particles exhibit slower dynamics and stronger localization. Moreover, as the particle size increases, the local volume fraction ϕ_{loc} also increases. In the glass state, the localization length significantly decreases beyond ϕ_{loc}≈0.67. This suggests a link between local crowding and dynamical heterogeneities. However dynamical arrest of subpopulations seems not directly linked to a large value of ϕ_{loc}, indicating the importance of collective effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Heckendorf
- Condensed Matter Physics Laboratory, Heinrich Heine University, Universitätsstrasse 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - K J Mutch
- Condensed Matter Physics Laboratory, Heinrich Heine University, Universitätsstrasse 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - S U Egelhaaf
- Condensed Matter Physics Laboratory, Heinrich Heine University, Universitätsstrasse 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - M Laurati
- Condensed Matter Physics Laboratory, Heinrich Heine University, Universitätsstrasse 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
- División de Ciencias e Ingenierías, Universidad de Guanajuato, Loma del Bosque 103, 37150 León, Mexico
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9
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Díaz-De Armas A, Martínez-Ratón Y. Role of length polydispersity in the phase behavior of freely rotating hard-rectangle fluids. Phys Rev E 2017; 95:052702. [PMID: 28618522 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.95.052702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2017] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
We use the density-functional formalism, in particular the scaled-particle theory, applied to a length-polydisperse hard-rectangle fluid to study its phase behavior as a function of the mean particle aspect ratio κ_{0} and polydispersity Δ_{0}. The numerical solutions of the coexistence equations are calculated by transforming the original problem with infinite degrees of freedoms to a finite set of equations for the amplitudes of the Fourier expansion of the moments of the density profiles. We divide the study into two parts. The first one is devoted to the calculation of the phase diagrams in the packing fraction η_{0}-κ_{0} plane for a fixed Δ_{0} and selecting parent distribution functions with exponential (the Schulz distribution) or Gaussian decays. In the second part we study the phase behavior in the η_{0}-Δ_{0} plane for fixed κ_{0} while Δ_{0} is changed. We characterize in detail the orientational ordering of particles and the fractionation of different species between the coexisting phases. Also we study the character (second vs first order) of the isotropic-nematic phase transition as a function of polydispersity. We particularly focus on the stability of the tetratic phase as a function of κ_{0} and Δ_{0}. The isotropic-nematic transition becomes strongly of first order when polydispersity is increased: The coexistence gap widens and the location of the tricritical point moves to higher values of κ_{0} while the tetratic phase is slightly destabilized with respect to the nematic one. The results obtained here can be tested in experiments on shaken monolayers of granular rods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ariel Díaz-De Armas
- Grupo Interdisciplinar de Sistemas Complejos, Departamento de Matemáticas, Escuela Politécnica Superior, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Avenida de la Universidad 30, 28911 Leganés, Madrid, Spain
| | - Yuri Martínez-Ratón
- Grupo Interdisciplinar de Sistemas Complejos, Departamento de Matemáticas, Escuela Politécnica Superior, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Avenida de la Universidad 30, 28911 Leganés, Madrid, Spain
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10
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Chen F, Chen M, Chang YW, Lin P, Chen Y, Cheng Z. Polydispersity reduction of colloidal plates via size fractionation of the isotropic-nematic phase transition. SOFT MATTER 2017; 13:3789-3793. [PMID: 28480932 DOI: 10.1039/c7sm00476a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Controlling the size polydispersity of colloidal particles is important for their phase transitions, resulting structures, and properties. In this study, a fractionation method was established to control the polydispersity of colloidal plates based on the isotropic-nematic (I-N) phase transition. The size ratio of nanoplates between the N phase and the I phase (DN/DI) was relatively large, whereas the size polydispersities in both the N phase and the I phase were smaller than that of the original sample before fractionation. The degree of fractionation was dependent on the time since the phase transition began and the polydispersity of the original sample. A long time resulted in a small DN/DI and a small degree of polydispersity reduction. The experimental data confirmed a quadratic scaling of DN/DI with polydispersity that was predicted by simulations. Large to small particles were segregated sequentially by sedimentation because of self-assembly and gravity. The polydispersity reduction based on the I-N phase transition can be utilized to select nanoplates with a certain size with improved size monodispersity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fang Chen
- Soft Matter Center, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory on Functional Soft Condensed Matter, School of Materials and Energy, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, 51006, China
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Ferreiro-Córdova C, Wensink HH. Spinodal instabilities in polydisperse lyotropic nematics. J Chem Phys 2016; 145:244904. [DOI: 10.1063/1.4972523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- C. Ferreiro-Córdova
- Laboratoire de Physique des Solides - UMR 8502, CNRS, Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, 91405 Orsay, France
| | - H. H. Wensink
- Laboratoire de Physique des Solides - UMR 8502, CNRS, Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, 91405 Orsay, France
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Petukhov AV, Meijer JM, Vroege GJ. Particle shape effects in colloidal crystals and colloidal liquid crystals: Small-angle X-ray scattering studies with microradian resolution. Curr Opin Colloid Interface Sci 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cocis.2015.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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13
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14
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Veen SJ, Kuijk A, Versluis P, Husken H, Velikov KP. Phase transitions in cellulose microfibril dispersions by high-energy mechanical deagglomeration. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2014; 30:13362-13368. [PMID: 25314626 DOI: 10.1021/la502790n] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
It is shown that dispersions of cellulose microfibrils display gel-sol and direct gel-colloidal liquid crystalline structure transitions. This is achieved by applying high-energy mechanical deagglomeration to bacterial cellulose (BC) networks in the presence of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC). At high CMC content adsorption of the polymer leads to a significant increase in the ζ potential. The resulting apparent phase diagram shows transitions from aggregates to single microfibril dispersions with increasing the CMC/BC weight ratio at low microfibril concentrations. At higher concentrations, liquid crystalline ordering was observed and the microstructure becomes more homogeneous with increasing the CMC content. The observed liquid crystalline ordering was found to be reminiscent of nematic gels. Applying deagglomeration in the presence of CMC, thus, transitions the system from aggregates and gels to dispersions of single microfibrils and nematic gel-type structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra J Veen
- Unilever Research Vlaardingen , Olivier van Noortlaan 120, 3133 AT Vlaardingen, Netherlands
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15
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SAXS reveals the magnetic alignment pathway of the goethite columnar liquid crystal phase. J Colloid Interface Sci 2014; 428:316-20. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2014.04.061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2014] [Revised: 04/27/2014] [Accepted: 04/28/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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16
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Leferink op Reinink ABGM, Belli S, van Roij R, Dijkstra M, Petukhov AV, Vroege GJ. Tuning biaxiality of nematic phases of board-like colloids by an external magnetic field. SOFT MATTER 2014; 10:446-456. [PMID: 24652631 DOI: 10.1039/c3sm52242c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
We study the influence of a magnetic field on the biaxial nematic phase of board-like goethite colloids both experimentally and theoretically. Using synchrotron small angle X-ray scattering techniques we find that applying a magnetic field along the main director of the biaxial nematic phase leads to a clear decrease in biaxiality with increasing magnetic field strength. Above a certain magnetic field strength the biaxiality is completely suppressed and the biaxial nematic phase transforms into an ordinary prolate uniaxial nematic phase. In order to interpret the physical mechanism behind this phenomenon, we develop a mean-field theory for the liquid crystal phase behaviour of the suspension. Within this theory the magnetic properties of the particles are modelled by taking into account the effect of both the permanent and the induced magnetic dipoles. The resulting phase diagrams support our experimental findings of the field-induced biaxial nematic to prolate uniaxial nematic transition. They additionally predict that for more plate-like particles, which initially would only display oblate nematic ordering of the shortest axis, the rare biaxial phase can be induced by applying a magnetic field with a carefully chosen field strength, a parameter which can be easily tuned.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anke B G M Leferink op Reinink
- Van't Hoff Laboratory for Physical and Colloid Chemistry, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584CH Utrecht, The Netherlands.
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Velasco E, Martínez-Ratón Y. Interplay between columnar and smectic stability in suspensions of polydisperse colloidal platelets. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2014; 16:765-75. [DOI: 10.1039/c3cp53065e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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18
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Lekkerkerker HNW, Vroege GJ. Liquid crystal phase transitions in suspensions of mineral colloids: new life from old roots. PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. SERIES A, MATHEMATICAL, PHYSICAL, AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES 2013; 371:20120263. [PMID: 23459965 DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2012.0263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
A review is given of the field of mineral colloidal liquid crystals: liquid crystal phases formed by individual mineral particles within colloidal suspensions. Starting from their discovery in the 1920s, we discuss developments on the levels of both fundamentals and applications. We conclude by highlighting some promising results from recent years, which may point the way towards future developments.
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Affiliation(s)
- H N W Lekkerkerker
- Van't Hoff Laboratory for Physical and Colloid Chemistry, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands.
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Leferink op Reinink ABGM, van den Pol E, Byelov DV, Petukhov AV, Vroege GJ. Ageing in a system of polydisperse goethite boardlike particles showing rich phase behaviour. JOURNAL OF PHYSICS. CONDENSED MATTER : AN INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS JOURNAL 2012; 24:464127. [PMID: 23114499 DOI: 10.1088/0953-8984/24/46/464127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Using microradian x-ray scattering and polarized light microscopy the rich liquid crystalline phase behaviour of a polydisperse system of chromium-modified goethite particles has been studied for five years. We observe that the particles stay highly mobile over years and the rich phase behaviour keeps developing in novel and even surprising ways. While in many other colloidal systems particle size polydispersity suppresses the formation of ordered phases, goethite particles form multiple coexisting ordered phases. The particle polydispersity problem is then solved by particle exchange between coexisting phases. One usually expects that a less ordered phase (e.g., nematic) is formed first while crystallization of the smectic and columnar crystals might take a longer time. For goethite particles we find the opposite, i.e. the nematic phase grows over years at the expense of a better ordered smectic phase. Moreover, SAXS patterns revealed peak splitting for both the smectic and the columnar phase, meaning that the system displays fractionated crystallization. We further discovered that the centred rectangular columnar phase spontaneously forms out of the simple rectangular columnar phase. The reverse transition is observed as well. We explain the ease of these martensitic transitions by showing how slight rotation and translation of the particles triggers the transition.
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Kuijk A, Byelov DV, Petukhov AV, van Blaaderen A, Imhof A. Phase behavior of colloidal silica rods. Faraday Discuss 2012. [DOI: 10.1039/c2fd20084h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 107] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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Yamaguchi D, Miyamoto N, Fujita T, Nakato T, Koizumi S, Ohta N, Yagi N, Hashimoto T. Aspect-ratio-dependent phase transitions and concentration fluctuations in aqueous colloidal dispersions of charged platelike particles. PHYSICAL REVIEW. E, STATISTICAL, NONLINEAR, AND SOFT MATTER PHYSICS 2012; 85:011403. [PMID: 22400569 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.85.011403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2011] [Revised: 09/14/2011] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Phase transitions of aqueous colloidal dispersions of charged platelike particles of niobate nanosheets were investigated as a function of the aspect ratio (r(asp)) and particle volume concentration (φ(p)) by means of small-angle neutron scattering and small-angle x-ray scattering. The results elucidated the following three pieces of evidence: (1) the macroscopic phase separation of the dispersions into an isotropic phase and a liquid crystalline (LC) phase under the conditions of (a) varying r(asp) (1.3×10(-4) ≤ r(asp) ≤ 2.5×10(-3)) at a constant φ(p) = 0.01 and (b) varying φ(p) (0.01 ≤ φ(p) ≤ 0.025) at a constant r(asp) = 2.5×10(-3), a mechanism of which is proposed in the text, where r(asp) ≡ d/ ̅L, with d and ̅L being thickness and the average lateral size of the plates, respectively; (2) the r(asp)-induced phase transition of the LC phase from a nematic phase to a highly periodic layered phase, the line shapes of the scattering peaks of which were examined by Caillé's analysis, upon increasing r(asp) under the condition (a); (3) the LC phase having remarkable concentration fluctuations of the particles which are totally unexpected for the conventional lyotropic molecular LC but which are anticipated to be general for the platelike colloidal particles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daisuke Yamaguchi
- Quantum Beam Science Directorate, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Tokai, Naka, Ibaraki 319-1195, Japan
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Martínez-Ratón Y, Varga S, Velasco E. Biaxial nematic phases in fluids of hard board-like particles. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2011; 13:13247-54. [DOI: 10.1039/c1cp20698b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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van den Pol E, Petukhov AV, Thies-Weesie DM, Byelov DV, Vroege GJ. Liquid crystal phase behavior of sterically-stabilized goethite. J Colloid Interface Sci 2010; 352:354-8. [PMID: 20880536 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2010.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2010] [Revised: 09/01/2010] [Accepted: 09/02/2010] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Byelov DV, Mourad MCD, Snigireva I, Snigirev A, Petukhov AV, Lekkerkerker HNW. Experimental observation of fractionated crystallization in polydisperse platelike colloids. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2010; 26:6898-6901. [PMID: 20392119 DOI: 10.1021/la100993k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
We have discovered that the long-term aging of the hexagonal columnar liquid-crystal phase of polydisperse gibbsite platelets leads to fractionated crystallization, that is, to the formation of coexisting columnar crystals with different periods. This process was revealed by microradian X-ray diffraction demonstrating the splitting of the Bragg intercolumnar reflections into sequences of sharper reflections. The fractionated crystallization was observed in a number of samples of sterically stabilized as well as charge-stabilized polydisperse gibbsite platelets.
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Affiliation(s)
- D V Byelov
- Van't Hoff Laboratory for Physical and Colloid Chemistry, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
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van den Pol E, Petukhov AV, Thies-Weesie DME, Vroege GJ. Simple rectangular columnar phase of goethite nanorods and its martensitic transition to the centered rectangular columnar phase. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2010; 26:1579-1582. [PMID: 20050610 DOI: 10.1021/la9042217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Using high-resolution small-angle X-ray scattering, we observed a new type of the columnar phase with a simple rectangular (R(S)) structure in colloidal goethite dispersions. Furthermore, it displays a martensitic transition into the usual centered rectangular (R(C)) structure in an external magnetic field. The findings are rationalized in terms of entropic effects within a simple cell model. We interpret the results as an effect of the particle shape and the available degrees of freedom on the delicate balance between the space available for particle translations and rotations within the two structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esther van den Pol
- Van 't Hoff Laboratory for Physical and Colloid Chemistry, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands.
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van den Pol E, Petukhov AV, Thies-Weesie DME, Byelov DV, Vroege GJ. Experimental realization of biaxial liquid crystal phases in colloidal dispersions of boardlike particles. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2009; 103:258301. [PMID: 20366292 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.103.258301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2009] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
Biaxial nematic and biaxial smectic phases were found in a colloidal model system of goethite (alpha-FeOOH) particles with a simple boardlike shape and short-range repulsive interaction. The macroscopic domains were oriented by a magnetic field and their structure was revealed by small angle x-ray scattering. In accordance with theoretical predictions, biaxiality appears in a system with particles that have a shape almost exactly in between rodlike and platelike. Our results suggest that biaxial phases can be readily obtained by a proper choice of the particle shape.
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Affiliation(s)
- E van den Pol
- Van't Hoff Laboratory for Physical and Colloid Chemistry, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands
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Nakato T, Miyamoto N. Liquid Crystalline Behavior and Related Properties of Colloidal Systems of Inorganic Oxide Nanosheets. MATERIALS 2009. [PMCID: PMC5525201 DOI: 10.3390/ma2041734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Inorganic layered crystals exemplified by clay minerals can be exfoliated in solvents to form colloidal dispersions of extremely thin inorganic layers that are called nanosheets. The obtained “nanosheet colloids” form lyotropic liquid crystals because of the highly anisotropic shape of the nanosheets. This system is a rare example of liquid crystals consisting of inorganic crystalline mesogens. Nanosheet colloids of photocatalytically active semiconducting oxides can exhibit unusual photoresponses that are not observed for organic liquid crystals. This review summarizes experimental work on the phase behavior of the nanosheet colloids as well as photochemical reactions observed in the clay and semiconducting nanosheets system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teruyuki Nakato
- Division of Bio-Applications and Systems Engineering (BASE), Institute of Symbiotic Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2-24-16 Naka-cho, Koganei-shi, Tokyo 184-8588, Japan
- Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: ; Tel./Fax: +81-42-388-7344
| | - Nobuyoshi Miyamoto
- Department of Life, Environment, and Materials Science, Faculty of Engineering, Fukuoka Institute of Technology, 3-30-1 Wajiro-higashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka 811-0295, Japan; E-Mail:
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