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Stable Smectic Phase in Suspensions of Polydisperse Colloidal Platelets with Identical Thickness by Sun, Dazhi; Sue, Hung-Jue; Cheng, Zhengdong; Martinez-Raton, Yuri; Velasco, Enrique is a scholarly article available to read on EtoBox.

What is Stable Smectic Phase in Suspensions of Polydisperse Colloidal Platelets with Identical Thickness about?

We report the nematic and smectic ordering in a new 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 is rationalized in terms of a theoretical approach based on density--functional theory.

Author

Sun, Dazhi; Sue, Hung-Jue; Cheng, Zhengdong; Martinez-Raton, Yuri; Velasco, Enrique

Published

2009

Language

EN