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Condensed-matter physics

Tunable colloidal crystals

Nature volume 421, pages 490–491 (2003)Cite this article

Microscopic particles dispersed in a solvent — a colloidal dispersion — can be a useful model for phase transitions and crystal nucleation. A colloid that can be 'tuned' using an electric field is a valuable new tool.

Fundamental advances in colloid science often depend on physical models, which are made by dispersing carefully tailored particles, less than a micrometre in size, in pure aqueous or organic liquids. Such dispersions can be characterized by methods such as light scattering and confocal microscopy, and the physical and chemical interactions between the particles, responsible for intriguing phases such as colloidal crystals (which behave like atomic solids), can be precisely controlled. On page 513 of this issue, Yethiraj and van Blaaderen1 describe a new model system that can be tuned with an electric field to display phase transitions and unexpected crystalline structures.

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Figure 1: How to tune your colloidal crystal.

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  1. the Department of Chemical Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, 08544, New Jersey, USA

    William B. Russel

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  1. William B. Russel
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Correspondence to William B. Russel.

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Russel, W. Tunable colloidal crystals. Nature 421, 490–491 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/421490a

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/421490a

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