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Updated: Mar 27, 2026

Synthesis and Characterization of Supramolecular Colloids
Published on: April 22, 2016
How do polydisperse repulsive colloids crystallize?
Robert Botet1, Bernard Cabane2, Lucas Goehring3
1Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, CNRS UMR8502, Univ. Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, 91405 Orsay Cedex, France. robert.botet@u-psud.fr.
Abstract:
A modified version of the Gibbs-ensemble Monte-Carlo method reveals how polydisperse charged colloidal particles can build complex colloidal crystals. It provides general rules that are applicable to this fractionated crystallization that stems from size segregation. It explains the spontaneous formation of complex crystals with very large unit-cells in suspensions of nanoparticles with a broad size distribution.
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