Research · Publication & note
Phase transitions in colloidal crystal thin films
Thin Film Growth · Book chapter · 2011
Abstract
This chapter reviews the crystal order of colloidal suspensions as hard spheres when confined in wedge type cells with flat walls. This type of cell allows the study of colloidal crystal growth transitions between one and n monolayers.
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Article access and reuse
Copyright © 2011 Woodhead Publishing Limited. All rights reserved. The local publisher-formatted chapter PDF and its figures are not reproduced because no public-reuse permission has been verified. Use the ScienceDirect record to access the chapter and the publisher’s copyright information.
Research fields
Bottom-up
Confined colloidal suspensions assemble inside wedge cells whose gap sweeps continuously from one to several particle diameters. This single sample records a sequence of layer transitions and the defects or facets that accommodate incompatible thicknesses.
Simulations & fits
Close-packing and filling-fraction models compare triangular, square, hcp-like and prismatic arrangements as the reduced cell thickness changes. The analysis explains why intermediate structures appear even when they are not conventional bulk crystal phases.
Characterization
SEM sections and surface images are combined with position-dependent optical spectra to reconstruct the three-dimensional order. The review uses these observations to relate terrace formation, stacking faults and facet changes to specific confinement intervals.
