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Observation of solid–solid transitions in 3D crystals of colloidal superballs

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  • Janne-Mieke Meijer

    (Van ’t Hoff Laboratory for Physical and Colloid Chemistry, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University
    Present address: Department of Physics, University of Konstanz, D-78457 Konstanz, Germany)

  • Antara Pal

    (Van ’t Hoff Laboratory for Physical and Colloid Chemistry, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University
    Present address: Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Lund University, SE-22100 Lund, Sweden)

  • Samia Ouhajji

    (Van ’t Hoff Laboratory for Physical and Colloid Chemistry, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University)

  • Henk N. W. Lekkerkerker

    (Van ’t Hoff Laboratory for Physical and Colloid Chemistry, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University)

  • Albert P. Philipse

    (Van ’t Hoff Laboratory for Physical and Colloid Chemistry, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University)

  • Andrei V. Petukhov

    (Van ’t Hoff Laboratory for Physical and Colloid Chemistry, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University
    Laboratory of Physical Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology)

Abstract

Self-organization in anisotropic colloidal suspensions leads to a fascinating range of crystal and liquid crystal phases induced by shape alone. Simulations predict the phase behaviour of a plethora of shapes while experimental realization often lags behind. Here, we present the experimental phase behaviour of superball particles with a shape in between that of a sphere and a cube. In particular, we observe the formation of a plastic crystal phase with translational order and orientational disorder, and the subsequent transformation into rhombohedral crystals. Moreover, we uncover that the phase behaviour is richer than predicted, as we find two distinct rhombohedral crystals with different stacking variants, namely hollow-site and bridge-site stacking. In addition, for slightly softer interactions we observe a solid–solid transition between the two. Our investigation brings us one step closer to ultimately controlling the experimental self-assembly of superballs into functional materials, such as photonic crystals.

Suggested Citation

  • Janne-Mieke Meijer & Antara Pal & Samia Ouhajji & Henk N. W. Lekkerkerker & Albert P. Philipse & Andrei V. Petukhov, 2017. "Observation of solid–solid transitions in 3D crystals of colloidal superballs," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 8(1), pages 1-8, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:8:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms14352
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14352
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    Cited by:

    1. Yi Peng & Wei Li & Tim Still & Arjun G. Yodh & Yilong Han, 2023. "In situ observation of coalescence of nuclei in colloidal crystal-crystal transitions," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-10, December.

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