6533b7d7fe1ef96bd1268262
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Direct observation of a buckling transition during the formation of thin colloidal crystals
Clemens BechingerThomas PalbergPaul LeidererStephan Nesersubject
Condensed Matter::Soft Condensed MatterPhase transitionCrystallographyColloidMaterials sciencegenetic structuresBucklingDirect observationBoundary value problemColloidal crystalComposite materialAtomic packing factorWedge (geometry)description
We have investigated a colloidal suspension in a thin wedge formed by two glass plates in the presence of a lateral pressure. Starting with a single hexagonal layer, with increasing separation between the glass plates additional layers are added. This process is accompanied by a number of structural transitions necessary to maintain a high packing fraction under the given boundary conditions. Besides the well-known sequence of hexagonal and quadratic phases, we observe two new phases which are identified with the buckling and the rhombic phase recently predicted by other authors.
year | journal | country | edition | language |
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2007-10-02 |