Controlling the Organization of Colloidal Sphero-Cylinders Using Confinement in a Minority Phase
We demonstrate experimentally that a phase-separating host solvent can be used to organize colloidal rods into different cluster and network states. The rods are silica sphero-cylinders which are preferentially wet by the water-rich phase of an oil–water binary liquid system. By beginning with the r...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2018-02-01
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| Series: | Gels |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/4/1/15 |
| Summary: | We demonstrate experimentally that a phase-separating host solvent can be used to organize colloidal rods into different cluster and network states. The rods are silica sphero-cylinders which are preferentially wet by the water-rich phase of an oil–water binary liquid system. By beginning with the rods dispersed in the single-fluid phase and then varying the temperature to enter the demixed regime, a precisely chosen volume of water-rich phase can be created. We then show how this can be used to create independent clusters of rods, a percolating network, a network of clusters or a system that undergoes hindered phase separation. These different modes are selected by choosing the relative volumes of the rods and the water-rich phase and by the timing of the temperature change. |
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| ISSN: | 2310-2861 |