The equilibrium intrinsic crystal-liquid interface of colloids.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 19706481.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1073/pnas.0904682106 and PMC identifier 2741228.
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Abstract
We use confocal microscopy to study an equilibrated crystal-liquid interface in a colloidal suspension. Capillary waves roughen the surface, but locally the intrinsic interface is sharply defined. We use local measurements of the structure and dynamics to characterize the intrinsic interface, and different measurements find slightly different widths of this interface. In terms of the particle diameter d, this width is either 1.5d (based on structural information) or 2.4d (based on dynamics), both not much larger than the particle size. This work is the first direct experimental visualization of an equilibrated crystal-liquid interface.
Medical subject headings
- Colloids
- Liquid Crystals
- Models, Chemical
- Phase Transition
- Surface Tension