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Estrada Alvarez SA, Guger I, Febbraro J, Turak A, Lin HR, Salinas Y, Brüggemann O. Synthesis and Spatial Order Characterization of Controlled Silica Particle Sizes Organized as Photonic Crystals Arrays. MATERIALS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 15:5864. [PMID: 36079248 PMCID: PMC9456689 DOI: 10.3390/ma15175864] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2022] [Revised: 08/10/2022] [Accepted: 08/18/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The natural occurrence of precious opals, consisting of highly organized silica particles, has prompted interest in the synthesis and formation of these structures. Previous research has shown that a highly organized photonic crystal (PhC) array is only possible when it is based on a low polydispersity index (PDI) sample of particles. In this study, a solvent-only variation method is used to synthesize different sizes of silica particles (SiPs) by following the traditional sol-gel Stöber approach. The controlled rate of the addition of the reagents promoted the homogeneity of the nucleation and growth of the spherical silica particles, which in turn yielded a low PDI. The opalescent PhC were obtained via self-assembly of these particles using a solvent evaporation method. Analysis of the spatial statistics, using Voronoi tessellations, pair correlation functions, and bond order analysis showed that the successfully formed arrays showed a high degree of quasi-hexagonal (hexatic) organization, with both global and local order. Highly organized PhC show potential for developing future materials with tunable structural reflective properties, such as solar cells, sensing materials, and coatings, among others.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Adriana Estrada Alvarez
- Institute of Polymer Chemistry, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Altenberger Strasse 69, 4040 Linz, Austria
- Linz Institute of Technology (LIT), Johannes Kepler University Linz, Altenberger Strasse 69, 4040 Linz, Austria
| | - Isabella Guger
- Institute of Polymer Chemistry, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Altenberger Strasse 69, 4040 Linz, Austria
| | - Jana Febbraro
- Department of Engineering Physics, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L7, Canada
| | - Ayse Turak
- Department of Engineering Physics, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L7, Canada
| | - Hong-Ru Lin
- Linz Institute of Technology (LIT), Johannes Kepler University Linz, Altenberger Strasse 69, 4040 Linz, Austria
- Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Nantai St. No.1, Tainan 71005, Taiwan
| | - Yolanda Salinas
- Institute of Polymer Chemistry, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Altenberger Strasse 69, 4040 Linz, Austria
- Linz Institute of Technology (LIT), Johannes Kepler University Linz, Altenberger Strasse 69, 4040 Linz, Austria
| | - Oliver Brüggemann
- Institute of Polymer Chemistry, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Altenberger Strasse 69, 4040 Linz, Austria
- Linz Institute of Technology (LIT), Johannes Kepler University Linz, Altenberger Strasse 69, 4040 Linz, Austria
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Kong P, Wang P, Zhou L, Li R. Structural defects of monolayer wet particles during melting under vertical vibration. Phys Rev E 2022; 105:014903. [PMID: 35193254 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.105.014903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2021] [Accepted: 12/14/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The evolution of structural defects during phase transition is of great significance to the understanding of the mechanism of solid-liquid transition. However, the current research on topological defects still uses the pair-correlation function and the orientational order correlation function, so it is difficult to quantify the detailed changes of structural defects locally. In this paper, the local volume fraction is proposed as a key parameter to accurately quantify the variation of structural defects. The experimental results indicate that the evolution of structural defects in the particle system is caused by the decrease of local volume fraction, so the critical value of phase transition could be determined by the minimum local volume fraction ϕ_{min}. Furthermore, according to the evolution law of structural defects, it can be deduced that the phase transition is continuous, which is consistent with the Kosterlitz-Thouless-Halperin-Nelson-Young theory. Therefore, the quantitative analysis of structural defects by using local volume fraction can help make the mechanism of solid-liquid phase transformation clearer.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Kong
- Jiading District Central Hospital Affiliated Shanghai University of Medicine & Health Sciences, Shanghai 201800, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory for Molecular Imaging, Shanghai University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Shanghai 201318, China
| | - Peng Wang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory for Molecular Imaging, Shanghai University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Shanghai 201318, China
- School of Medical Instrument and Food Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, China
| | - Liang Zhou
- Jiading District Central Hospital Affiliated Shanghai University of Medicine & Health Sciences, Shanghai 201800, China
| | - Ran Li
- School of Medical Instrument and Food Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, China
- School of Optical-Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, China
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Bumstead M, Liang K, Hanta G, Hui LS, Turak A. disLocate: tools to rapidly quantify local intermolecular structure to assess two-dimensional order in self-assembled systems. Sci Rep 2018; 8:1554. [PMID: 29367673 PMCID: PMC5784143 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-18894-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2017] [Accepted: 12/18/2017] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Order classification is particularly important in photonics, optoelectronics, nanotechnology, biology, and biomedicine, as self-assembled and living systems tend to be ordered well but not perfectly. Engineering sets of experimental protocols that can accurately reproduce specific desired patterns can be a challenge when (dis)ordered outcomes look visually similar. Robust comparisons between similar samples, especially with limited data sets, need a finely tuned ensemble of accurate analysis tools. Here we introduce our numerical Mathematica package disLocate, a suite of tools to rapidly quantify the spatial structure of a two-dimensional dispersion of objects. The full range of tools available in disLocate give different insights into the quality and type of order present in a given dispersion, accessing the translational, orientational and entropic order. The utility of this package allows for researchers to extract the variation and confidence range within finite sets of data (single images) using different structure metrics to quantify local variation in disorder. Containing all metrics within one package allows for researchers to easily and rapidly extract many different parameters simultaneously, allowing robust conclusions to be drawn on the order of a given system. Quantifying the experimental trends which produce desired morphologies enables engineering of novel methods to direct self-assembly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matt Bumstead
- McMaster University, Department of Engineering Physics, Hamilton, L8S 4L7, Canada.
| | - Kunyu Liang
- McMaster University, Department of Engineering Physics, Hamilton, L8S 4L7, Canada
| | - Gregory Hanta
- McMaster University, Department of Engineering Physics, Hamilton, L8S 4L7, Canada
| | - Lok Shu Hui
- McMaster University, Department of Engineering Physics, Hamilton, L8S 4L7, Canada
| | - Ayse Turak
- McMaster University, Department of Engineering Physics, Hamilton, L8S 4L7, Canada.
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de Castro P, Sollich P. Phase separation dynamics of polydisperse colloids: a mean-field lattice-gas theory. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2017; 19:22509-22527. [DOI: 10.1039/c7cp04062h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Strong theoretical evidence shows that dense colloidal mixtures phase-separate in two stages and the denser phase contains long-lived composition heterogeneities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo de Castro
- Disordered Systems Group
- Department of Mathematics
- King's College London
- London
- UK
| | - Peter Sollich
- Disordered Systems Group
- Department of Mathematics
- King's College London
- London
- UK
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