Title
Hierarchical microstructures formed by bidisperse colloidal suspensions within colloid-in-liquid crystal gels
Date Issued
08 April 2015
Access level
metadata only access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguáez
Publisher(s)
American Chemical Society
Abstract
Past studies have reported that colloids of a single size dispersed in the isotropic phase of a mesogenic solvent can form colloid-rich networks (and gels) upon thermal quenching of the system across the isotropic-nematic phase boundary of the mesogens. Herein we report the observation and characterization of complex hierarchical microstructures that form when bidisperse colloidal suspensions of nanoparticles (NPs; iron oxide with diameters of 188 ± 20 nm or poly(methyl methacrylate) with diameters of 150 ± 15 nm) and microparticles (MPs; polystyrene with diameters of 2.77 ± 0.20 μm) are dispersed in the isotropic phase of 4-pentyl-4-cyanobiphenyl (5CB) and thermally quenched. Specifically, we document microstructuring that results from three sequential phase separation processes that occur at distinct temperatures during stepwise cooling of the ternary mixture from its miscibility region. The first phase transition demixes the system into coexisting MP-rich and NP-rich phases; the second promotes formation of a particle network within the MP-rich phase; and the third, which coincides with the isotropic-to-nematic phase transition of 5CB, produces a second colloidal network within the NP-rich phase. We quantified the dynamics of each demixing process by using optical microscopy and Fourier transform image analysis to establish that the phase transitions occur through (i) surface-directed spinodal decomposition, (ii) spinodal decomposition, and (iii) nucleation and growth, respectively. Significantly, the observed series of phase transitions leads to a hierarchical organization of cellular microstructures not observed in colloid-in-liquid crystal gels formed from monodisperse colloids. The results of this study suggest new routes to the synthesis of colloidal materials with hierarchical microstructures that combine large surface areas and organized porosity with potential applications in catalysis, separations, chemical sensing, or tissue engineering.
Start page
7153
End page
7162
Volume
7
Issue
13
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Ingeniería química
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-84926629971
PubMed ID
Source
ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
ISSN of the container
19448244
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus