Article abstract
Nature Materials 6, 888 - 893 (2007)
Published online: 26 August 2007 | doi:10.1038/nmat1995
Subject Categories: Polymers | Characterisation and analytical techniques
Order causes secondary Bragg peaks in soft materials
Stephan Förster1, Andreas Timmann1, Carsten Schellbach1, Andreas Frömsdorf1, Andreas Kornowski1, Horst Weller1, Stephan V. Roth2 & Peter Lindner3
Abstract
Highly ordered soft materials exhibit Bragg peaks that cannot be indexed assuming homogeneous crystal structures. Their origin has been attributed to changes in the crystal structure that are induced by the ordering process such as by application of external fields. This would restrict the use for the generation of highly ordered nano- and microstructured materials where a homogeneous crystal structure is a key requirement. Here, we demonstrate that these Bragg peaks are an inherent property of homogeneous ordered soft materials related to the finite coherence of their crystalline lattice. Their consideration allows a detailed and quantitative analysis of the diffraction patterns of seemingly unrelated materials such as lyotropic liquid-crystalline phases, mesoporous materials, colloidal dispersions, block copolymers, electrorheological fluids and photonic crystals. It further enables us to develop a concise picture of order, line density, field-induced orientation and epitaxial relations for soft-material lattices.
- Institute of Physical Chemistry, University of Hamburg, Grindelallee 117, D-20146 Hamburg, Germany
- HASYLAB, DESY, Notkestrasse 85, D-22603 Hamburg, Germany
- Institut-Laue-Langevin, 6, rue Jules Horowitz, F-38042 Grenoble Cedex 9, France
Correspondence to: Stephan Förster1 e-mail: forster@chemie.uni-hamburg.de
MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS
These links to content published by NPG are automatically generated.
RESEARCH
A triple-network tricontinuous cubicliquid crystalNature Materials Article (01 Jul 2005)
Dynamic control of the photonic smectic order of membranesNature Materials Article (01 Jan 2005)
X-ray-scattering information obtained from near-field speckleNature Physics Article (01 Mar 2008)
Occurrence of liquid-crystalline mesophases in microemulsion dispersionsNature Letters to Editor (27 Mar 1986)
See all 24 matches for Research
