The role of thickness transitions in convective assembly.
Journal Article (Journal Article)
Here we examine the microscopic details of convective assembly, a process in which thin colloidal crystals are deposited on a substrate from suspensions of nearly monodisperse spheres. Previously, such crystals have been shown to exhibit a strong tendency toward the face-centered cubic structure, which is difficult to explain on thermodynamic grounds. Using real-time microscopic visualization, electron microscopy, and scanning confocal microscopy, we obtain clues about the crystallization mechanism. Our results indicate that the regions at which a growing crystal transitions from n to n + 1 layers can play an important and previously unrecognized role in the crystallization. For thin crystals, we show both from experiment and through simple modeling that these transition regions can generate specific crystal structures. In thicker crystals, the crystallization is more complicated, but the transition regions must still be considered before a complete understanding of convective assembly can be obtained.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Meng, L; Wei, H; Nagel, A; Wiley, BJ; Scriven, LE; Norris, DJ
Published Date
- October 2006
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 6 / 10
Start / End Page
- 2249 - 2253
PubMed ID
- 17034092
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
- 1530-6992
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
- 1530-6984
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1021/nl061626b
Language
- eng