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Experimental probing of dynamic self-organized columnar assemblies in colloidal liquid crystals
Taiki Hoshino1,2,3, Masanari Nakayama4, Yoshihiro Hosokawa4
1International Center for Synchrotron Radiation Innovation Smart (SRIS), Tohoku University 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku Sendai 980-8577 Japan taiki.hoshino.c7@tohoku.ac.jp.
Nanoscale Advances
|July 13, 2023
Summary
Controlling nanoplate size in colloidal liquid crystals reveals their dynamic behaviors. This understanding is key for designing advanced self-assembled materials with tunable functions.
Area of Science:
- Soft Matter Physics
- Materials Science
- Supramolecular Chemistry
Background:
- Self-organized supramolecular assemblies, including liquid crystals, colloids, and gels, exhibit dynamic functions like stimuli-responsiveness and self-healing due to reversible non-covalent bonding.
- The complex interplay of intermolecular forces in these assemblies leads to diverse molecular motions across various timescales, making their specific dynamics challenging to elucidate.
Purpose of the Study:
- To experimentally investigate the static structures and dynamical behaviors of columnar colloidal liquid crystals.
- To understand how controlling the size distribution of colloidal nanoplates influences the material's static and dynamic properties.
Main Methods:
- Utilized coherent X-ray scattering techniques with refined model samples to probe static structures.
- Employed X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy to analyze dynamical behaviors and decompose them into distinct modes.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated that the size distribution of colloidal nanoplates significantly alters both static and dynamic properties of columnar liquid crystals.
- Successfully decomposed the observed dynamical behaviors into multiple distinct modes, providing insights into their origins within the colloidal liquid-crystalline state.
Conclusions:
- The study provides a method to understand the dynamic nature of molecular assemblies and dense colloidal systems.
- Offers valuable insights for the rational design of functional self-assembled materials, such as stimuli-responsive liquid crystals and self-healing gels, by controlling particle dynamics.
