Colloidal photonic crystals formation studied by real-time light diffraction
Colloidal suspensions crystallize by a natural sedimentation process under certain conditions, the initial volume fraction being one of the parameters that govern this process. Here, we have developed a simple in-situ, real-time, optical characterization technique to study silica colloidal suspensio...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
De Gruyter
2022-06-01
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| Series: | Nanophotonics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1515/nanoph-2022-0127 |
| _version_ | 1797947910721110016 |
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| author | Pariente Jose Ángel Blanco Álvaro López Cefe |
| author_facet | Pariente Jose Ángel Blanco Álvaro López Cefe |
| author_sort | Pariente Jose Ángel |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Colloidal suspensions crystallize by a natural sedimentation process under certain conditions, the initial volume fraction being one of the parameters that govern this process. Here, we have developed a simple in-situ, real-time, optical characterization technique to study silica colloidal suspensions during natural sedimentation in order to shed new light on this crystallization process. This technique monitors small variations in the wavelength of the reflectance features, allowing the analysis of the formation of the first layers of the crystal with sub-nanometer precision, and their dynamics, which is crucial to ensure a high quality in the final sample. The experimental results indicate that, in certain range of volume fraction, spontaneous crystallization of a colloidal fluid occurs at the bottom of the suspension, as a phase change, then through evaporation of the water it compacts to near close-packed and, eventually, dries. Understanding self-assembly at these scales is paramount in materials science and our results will contribute to improve and characterize the quality and crystallinity of the materials used in this process. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T21:35:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a6fca7417a434f4397b16fc0cce173c9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2192-8614 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T21:35:10Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | De Gruyter |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nanophotonics |
| spelling | doaj.art-a6fca7417a434f4397b16fc0cce173c92023-01-19T12:47:00ZengDe GruyterNanophotonics2192-86142022-06-0111143257326710.1515/nanoph-2022-0127Colloidal photonic crystals formation studied by real-time light diffractionPariente Jose Ángel0Blanco Álvaro1López Cefe2Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid (ICMM), Calle Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz 3, E-28049Madrid, SpainConsejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid (ICMM), Calle Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz 3, E-28049Madrid, SpainConsejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid (ICMM), Calle Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz 3, E-28049Madrid, SpainColloidal suspensions crystallize by a natural sedimentation process under certain conditions, the initial volume fraction being one of the parameters that govern this process. Here, we have developed a simple in-situ, real-time, optical characterization technique to study silica colloidal suspensions during natural sedimentation in order to shed new light on this crystallization process. This technique monitors small variations in the wavelength of the reflectance features, allowing the analysis of the formation of the first layers of the crystal with sub-nanometer precision, and their dynamics, which is crucial to ensure a high quality in the final sample. The experimental results indicate that, in certain range of volume fraction, spontaneous crystallization of a colloidal fluid occurs at the bottom of the suspension, as a phase change, then through evaporation of the water it compacts to near close-packed and, eventually, dries. Understanding self-assembly at these scales is paramount in materials science and our results will contribute to improve and characterize the quality and crystallinity of the materials used in this process.https://doi.org/10.1515/nanoph-2022-0127colloidal crystallizationin-situ characterizationnanophotonicsself-assembly |
| spellingShingle | Pariente Jose Ángel Blanco Álvaro López Cefe Colloidal photonic crystals formation studied by real-time light diffraction Nanophotonics colloidal crystallization in-situ characterization nanophotonics self-assembly |
| title | Colloidal photonic crystals formation studied by real-time light diffraction |
| title_full | Colloidal photonic crystals formation studied by real-time light diffraction |
| title_fullStr | Colloidal photonic crystals formation studied by real-time light diffraction |
| title_full_unstemmed | Colloidal photonic crystals formation studied by real-time light diffraction |
| title_short | Colloidal photonic crystals formation studied by real-time light diffraction |
| title_sort | colloidal photonic crystals formation studied by real time light diffraction |
| topic | colloidal crystallization in-situ characterization nanophotonics self-assembly |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1515/nanoph-2022-0127 |
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