6533b85ffe1ef96bd12c12fa

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Gravity-induced liquid crystal phase transitions of colloidal platelets.

David Van Der BeekHenk N. W. LekkerkerkerTanja Schilling

subject

Phase transitionGravity (chemistry)Materials scienceMonte Carlo method: Physics [G04] [Physical chemical mathematical & earth Sciences]General Physics and AstronomyThermodynamicsCondensed Matter::Soft Condensed MatterCrystallographyColloid: Physique [G04] [Physique chimie mathématiques & sciences de la terre]Liquid crystalSPHERESPhysical and Theoretical ChemistryColumnar phaseSuspension (vehicle)

description

he influence of gravity on a suspension of sterically stabilized colloidal gibbsite platelets is studied. An initially isotropic-nematic biphasic sample of such a suspension develops a columnar phase on the bottom on prolonged standing. This phenomenon is described using a simple osmotic compression model. We performed Monte Carlo simulations of cut spheres with aspect ratio L/D = 1/15 and took data from the literature to supply the equations of state required for the model. We find that the model describes the observed three-phase equilibrium quite well.

10.1063/1.1783231https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15352836