Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 27, 2026

From Molecules to Materials: Engineering New Ionic Liquid Crystals Through Halogen Bonding
Published on: March 24, 2018
Semisoft Colloidal Crystals in Ionic Liquids
Yun Huang1, Akisato Takata1, Yoshinobu Tsujii1
1Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University , Uji, Kyoto 611-0011, Japan.
Abstract:
Here, we introduce a technique for the direct formation of semisoft colloidal crystals of hybrid particles in nonvolatile ionic liquid (IL) solvents. The hybrid particles are comprised of a silica core and a densely grafted polymer brush shell, which were synthesized by surface-initiated living radical polymerization. A phase transition of the suspensions from a disordered fluid to a crystallized system was observed within a narrow concentration range. Confocal laser scanning microscopy observation and ultraviolet-visible light (UV-vis) spectrometry confirmed the highly ordered structure of the hybrid particles in ionic liquids. The effect of the hybrid particle structure on the photonic band gap of the colloidal crystals was investigated, and the band gaps varied by changing graft chain lengths. In addition, the colloidal crystal suspensions were successfully immobilized in ILs.
Related Concept Videos
The Colloidal State
Colloidal precipitates
Colloids
Solubility of Ionic Compounds
Molecular and Ionic Solids
Molecular Solids
Molecular crystalline solids, such as ice, sucrose (table sugar), and iodine, are solids that are composed of neutral molecules as their constituent units. These molecules are held together by weak intermolecular forces such as London dispersion forces, dipole-dipole interactions, or hydrogen bonds, which...
Recrystallization: Solid–Solution Equilibria

