The Christiansen effect of brightly colored colloidal dispersion with an amphiphilic polymer

A novel coloration phenomenon in a colloidal dispersion with an amphiphilic polymer was found. The dispersion consists of tetrahydrofuran (THF), an aqueous solution of sodium thiosulfate (Na(2)S(2)O(3).5H(2)O), and hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC). The dispersion was emulsified by HPC as an amphiphilic polymer, so that the aqueous phase was confined in droplets in the THF matrix. It typically appeared bluish violet at room temperature and turned into blue with increasing temperature. In this system, the refractive indices of the inside and outside of the droplet coincided at a certain wavelength at which the light passes through without scattering, which is called the Christiansen effect. The color observed was successfully simulated by Mie's scattering theory in combination with the Christiansen effect.