Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Phase Transitions02:31

Phase Transitions

23.3K
Whether solid, liquid, or gas, a substance's state depends on the order and arrangement of its particles (atoms, molecules, or ions). Particles in the solid pack closely together, generally in a pattern. The particles vibrate about their fixed positions but do not move or squeeze past their neighbors. In liquids, although the particles are closely spaced, they are randomly arranged. The position of the particles are not fixed—that is, they are free to move past their neighbors to...
23.3K
Phase Transitions: Sublimation and Deposition02:33

Phase Transitions: Sublimation and Deposition

20.3K
Some solids can transition directly into the gaseous state, bypassing the liquid state, via a process known as sublimation. At room temperature and standard pressure, a piece of dry ice (solid CO2) sublimes, appearing to gradually disappear without ever forming any liquid. Snow and ice sublimate at temperatures below the melting point of water, a slow process that may be accelerated by winds and the reduced atmospheric pressures at high altitudes. When solid iodine is warmed, the solid sublimes...
20.3K
Phase Transitions: Melting and Freezing02:39

Phase Transitions: Melting and Freezing

15.3K
Heating a crystalline solid increases the average energy of its atoms, molecules, or ions, and the solid gets hotter. At some point, the added energy becomes large enough to partially overcome the forces holding the molecules or ions of the solid in their fixed positions, and the solid begins the process of transitioning to the liquid state or melting. At this point, the temperature of the solid stops rising, despite the continual input of heat, and it remains constant until all of the solid is...
15.3K
Phase Transitions: Vaporization and Condensation02:39

Phase Transitions: Vaporization and Condensation

21.6K
The physical form of a substance changes on changing its temperature. For example, raising the temperature of a liquid causes the liquid to vaporize (convert into vapor). The process is called vaporization—a surface phenomenon. Vaporization occurs when the thermal motion of the molecules overcome the intermolecular forces, and the molecules (at the surface) escape into the gaseous state. When a liquid vaporizes in a closed container, gas molecules cannot escape. As these gas phase molecules...
21.6K
Phase Diagrams02:39

Phase Diagrams

50.5K
A phase diagram combines plots of pressure versus temperature for the liquid-gas, solid-liquid, and solid-gas phase-transition equilibria of a substance. These diagrams indicate the physical states that exist under specific conditions of pressure and temperature and also provide the pressure dependence of the phase-transition temperatures (melting points, sublimation points, boiling points). Regions or areas labeled solid, liquid, and gas represent single phases, while lines or curves represent...
50.5K
Crystal Field Theory - Octahedral Complexes02:58

Crystal Field Theory - Octahedral Complexes

31.0K
Crystal Field Theory
To explain the observed behavior of transition metal complexes (such as colors), a model involving electrostatic interactions between the electrons from the ligands and the electrons in the unhybridized d orbitals of the central metal atom has been developed. This electrostatic model is crystal field theory (CFT). It helps to understand, interpret, and predict the colors, magnetic behavior, and some structures of coordination compounds of transition metals.
CFT focuses on...
31.0K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Catching the wave: particle transport by a moving phase boundary.

Soft matter·2025
Same author

Behavior of chemically powered Janus colloids in lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal.

Physical review. E·2024
Same author

Controlling Chaos: Periodic Defect Braiding in Active Nematics Confined to a Cardioid.

Physical review letters·2024
Same author

Forming, Confining, and Observing Microtubule-Based Active Nematics.

Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE·2023
Same author

Active nematic order and dynamic lane formation of microtubules driven by membrane-bound diffusing motors.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2021
Same author

Directional, Low-Energy Driven Thermal Actuating Bilayer Enabled by Coordinated Submolecular Switching.

Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany)·2021

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 13, 2026

Synthesis of Monodisperse Cylindrical Nanoparticles via Crystallization-driven Self-assembly of Biodegradable Block Copolymers
11:42

Synthesis of Monodisperse Cylindrical Nanoparticles via Crystallization-driven Self-assembly of Biodegradable Block Copolymers

Published on: June 20, 2019

8.3K

Phase Transition-Driven Nanoparticle Assembly in Liquid Crystal Droplets.

Charles N Melton1, Sheida T Riahinasab2, Amir Keshavarz3

  • 1Department of Physics, School of Natural Sciences, University of California, 5200 North Lake Rd., Merced, CA 95343, USA. cmelton@ucmerced.edu.

Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland)
|March 10, 2018
PubMed
Summary

Researchers used liquid crystals to precisely position quantum dot clusters and create hollow capsules. This method overcomes limitations in nanoparticle self-assembly for large-scale material production.

Keywords:
nanoparticlenematic liquid crystalphase transitionquantum dotself-assembly

More Related Videos

Liquid-cell Transmission Electron Microscopy for Tracking Self-assembly of Nanoparticles
08:39

Liquid-cell Transmission Electron Microscopy for Tracking Self-assembly of Nanoparticles

Published on: October 16, 2017

13.2K
Orientational Transition in a Liquid Crystal Triggered by the Thermodynamic Growth of Interfacial Wetting Sheets
06:26

Orientational Transition in a Liquid Crystal Triggered by the Thermodynamic Growth of Interfacial Wetting Sheets

Published on: May 15, 2017

7.6K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Feb 13, 2026

Synthesis of Monodisperse Cylindrical Nanoparticles via Crystallization-driven Self-assembly of Biodegradable Block Copolymers
11:42

Synthesis of Monodisperse Cylindrical Nanoparticles via Crystallization-driven Self-assembly of Biodegradable Block Copolymers

Published on: June 20, 2019

8.3K
Liquid-cell Transmission Electron Microscopy for Tracking Self-assembly of Nanoparticles
08:39

Liquid-cell Transmission Electron Microscopy for Tracking Self-assembly of Nanoparticles

Published on: October 16, 2017

13.2K
Orientational Transition in a Liquid Crystal Triggered by the Thermodynamic Growth of Interfacial Wetting Sheets
06:26

Orientational Transition in a Liquid Crystal Triggered by the Thermodynamic Growth of Interfacial Wetting Sheets

Published on: May 15, 2017

7.6K

Area of Science:

  • Materials Science
  • Nanoscience
  • Soft Matter Physics

Background:

  • Anisotropic liquid crystals offer unique environments for nanoparticle self-assembly.
  • Controlling nanoparticle organization over large length scales remains a challenge in nanoscience.
  • Existing fluid-based methods often result in disordered nanoparticle arrangements.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To demonstrate a method for positioning nanoparticle clusters within liquid crystal droplets.
  • To investigate the role of liquid crystal phase fronts and topological defects in nanoparticle assembly.
  • To create stable, spatially defined nanoparticle structures like clusters and capsules.

Main Methods:

  • Utilizing spherical liquid crystal droplets as a medium for nanoparticle self-assembly.
  • Observing nanoparticle sorting at the isotropic-nematic phase front.
  • Analyzing the formation of quantum dot clusters and hollow capsules.

Main Results:

  • Nanoparticle sorting at the nematic phase front was found to be a dominant assembly mechanism.
  • Assembly at the nematic phase front can drive clustering to energetically unfavorable locations.
  • Stable hollow capsules and fractal quantum dot clusters were formed at droplet centers.

Conclusions:

  • Liquid crystal phase fronts provide effective control over nanoparticle positioning.
  • This technique enables the creation of ordered nanoparticle assemblies for advanced materials.
  • The method overcomes limitations of traditional fluid-based nanoparticle assembly.