Surface Freezing and a Two-Step Pathway of the Isotropic-Smectic Phase Transition in Colloidal Rods
- 16 October 2003
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review Letters
- Vol. 91 (16) , 165701
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.91.165701
Abstract
We study the kinetics of the isotropic-smectic phase transition in a colloidal rod/polymer mixture by visualizing individual smectic layers. First, we show that the bulk isotropic-smectic phase transition is preceded by a surface freezing transition in which a quasi-two-dimensional smectic phase wets the isotropic-nematic interface. Next, we identify a two-step kinetic pathway for the formation of a bulk smectic phase. In the first step a metastable isotropic-nematic interface is formed. This interface is wetted by the surface-induced smectic phase. In the subsequent step, smectic layers nucleate at this surface phase and grow into the isotropic bulk phase.Keywords
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