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Updated: Jul 3, 2026

Synthesis and Characterization of Supramolecular Colloids
Published on: April 22, 2016
Orientationally correlated colloidal polycrystals without long-range positional order
Cristina Arcos1, Kitty Kumar, Wenceslao González-Viñas
1Department of Physics and Physical Oceanography, Memorial University, St. John's, NL, Canada A1B 3X7.
Abstract:
We probe the local and global structure of spin-coated colloidal crystals via laser diffraction measurements and scanning electron and atomic force microscopies, and find that they are unique three-dimensional orientationally correlated polycrystals, exhibiting short-range positional order but long-range radial orientational correlations, reminiscent of-but distinct from-two-dimensional colloidal hexatic phases. Thickness and symmetries are controllable by solvent choice and spin speed. While the polycrystallinity of these colloidal films limits their applicability to photonics, we demonstrate their feasibility as templates to make crack-free magnetic patterns.
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