Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 3, 2026

Sampling, Sorting, and Characterizing Microplastics in Aquatic Environments with High Suspended Sediment Loads and Large Floating Debris
Published on: July 28, 2018
Dynamics of the floating nematic phase formation in platelet suspension with thickness polydispersity by
Jize Sui1, Masao Doi, Yiming Ding
1Center of Soft Matter Physics and its Applications, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China. suijize2008@126.com.
Abstract:
An inverted phase coexistence, where an ordered phase appears on top of a disordered phase, has been observed in polydisperse colloidal suspensions. Herein, we studied the dynamics of this phenomenon in a suspension of a mixture of two types of platelets, namely, thick and thin. We show that the thick platelets preferentially sediment first excluding the thin platelets, and create a region enriched with thin platelets at some place above the bottom, which eventually gives the inverted configuration. We show that such interplay between the sedimentation and the isotropic-nematic phase transition can cause a rich and complex sedimentation dynamic. Depending on the initial concentration and the gravity strength, the interface between the isotropic phase and the nematic phase can move up or down during the sedimentation, and a variety of final equilibrium structures can appear.
Related Concept Videos
Formation of the Platelet Plug
As the injured blood vessel contracts, endothelial cells undergo contraction, revealing collagen fibers in the basement membrane and underlying connective tissue. Furthermore, the plasma membrane of endothelial cells becomes adhesive, preparing the site for platelet adhesion. Platelets...
Dynamic Equilibrium
Phase II Reactions: Glutathione Conjugation and Mercapturic Acid Formation
Several distinctive characteristics distinguish glutathione conjugation from other phase II...
Phase Transitions
Phase Diagrams
Phase Transitions: Sublimation and Deposition

