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Updated: May 24, 2026

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Published on: October 24, 2017
Lyotropic smectic B phase formed in suspensions of charged colloidal platelets
Dzina Kleshchanok1, Peter Holmqvist, Janne-Mieke Meijer
1Van't Hoff Laboratory, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, The Netherlands. D.Kleshchanok@uu.nl
Abstract:
Here, we present the first observation of a smectic B (Sm(B)) phase in a system of charged colloidal gibbsite platelets suspended in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). The use of DMSO, a polar aprotic solvent, leads to a long range of the electrostatic Coulomb repulsion between platelets. We believe this to be responsible for the formation of the layered liquid crystalline phase consisting of hexagonally ordered particles, that is, the Sm(B) phase. We support our finding by high-resolution X-ray scattering experiments, which additionally indicate a high degree of ordering in the Sm(B) phase.
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