Thermodynamically controlled multiphase separation of heterogeneous liquid crystal colloids.

ABSTRACT: Phase separation is a universal physical transition process whereby a homogeneous mixture splits into two distinct compartments that are driven by the component activity, elasticity, or compositions. In the current work, we develop a series of heterogeneous colloidal suspensions that exhibit both liquid-liquid phase separation of semiflexible binary polymers and liquid crystal phase separation of rigid, rod-like nanocellulose particles. The phase behavior of the multicomponent mixture is controlled by the trade-off between thermodynamics and kinetics during the two transition processes, displaying cholesteric self-assembly of nanocellulose within or across the compartmented aqueous phases. Upon thermodynamic control, two-, three-, and four-phase coexistence behaviors with rich liquid cryst

SUBMITTER: Tao H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10465492 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature