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Updated: Aug 1, 2026

Confocal Imaging of Confined Quiescent and Flowing Colloid-polymer Mixtures
Published on: May 20, 2014
Liquid-crystalline phase behavior of a colloidal rod-plate mixture
van Der Kooij FM1, H N Lekkerkerker
1Van 't Hoff Laboratory for Physical and Colloid Chemistry, Debye Institute, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
The phase behavior of rod-plate mixtures was investigated using model systems containing unambiguously rod- and plate-shaped colloids. We find that the theoretically disputed biaxial nematic phase is unstable with respect to demixing into an isotropic and two uniaxial nematic phases. The phase behavior at very high densities is exceptionally rich and includes the coexistence of up to four different liquid crystalline phases, which stem from the coupling between the employed particle shapes and polydispersity.
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