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Do Aqueous Suspensions of Smectite Clays Form a Smectic Liquid-Crystalline Phase?
Karin El Rifaii1, Henricus H Wensink1, Ivan Dozov1
1Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, 91405Orsay, France.
Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids
|November 17, 2022
Summary
Researchers discovered "colloidal accordions," robust, long-lasting 1D stacks of clay sheets formed during delamination. These structures exhibit unique liquid-crystalline properties and are kinetically stable, offering insights into nanostructure self-assembly.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Colloid Science
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Bottom-up nanostructure fabrication relies on self-assembling anisotropic colloidal particles.
- Understanding particle organization during delamination is crucial for optimizing production.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the delamination mechanism and organization of fluorohectorite clay in water.
- To characterize the resulting colloidal structures and their stability.
Main Methods:
- Dispersion of fluorohectorite smectite clay in water.
- Optical microscopy and synchrotron X-ray scattering.
- Theoretical modeling incorporating the Donnan effect.
Main Results:
- Formation of periodic, one-dimensional stacks of single-layer clay sheets ('colloidal accordions').
- Colloidal accordions exhibit liquid-crystalline behavior and remarkable mechanical robustness, persisting for years.
- A theoretical model accurately predicts stacking period dependence on concentration and ionic strength, explaining kinetic stability.
Conclusions:
- Colloidal accordions represent a stable intermediate state in the delamination of 2D crystals.
- The findings provide fundamental insights into the self-assembly and stability of anisotropic colloidal systems.
- The developed model is applicable to similar delamination processes in polar solvents.
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