TY  - JOUR
AU  - Dogic, Z.
TI  - Surface Freezing and a Two-Step Pathway of the Isotropic-Smectic Phase Transition in Colloidal Rods
JO  - Physical review letters
VL  - 91
SN  - 0031-9007
CY  - College Park, Md.
PB  - APS
M1  - PreJuSER-34038
SP  - 165701-1 - 165701-4
PY  - 2003
N1  - Record converted from VDB: 12.11.2012
AB  - 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.
KW  - J (WoSType)
LB  - PUB:(DE-HGF)16
UR  - <Go to ISI:>//WOS:000186068300031
DO  - DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.91.165701
UR  - https://juser.fz-juelich.de/record/34038
ER  -