Colloidal crystal grain boundary formation and motion.

ABSTRACT: The ability to assemble nano- and micro- sized colloidal components into highly ordered configurations is often cited as the basis for developing advanced materials. However, the dynamics of stochastic grain boundary formation and motion have not been quantified, which limits the ability to control and anneal polycrystallinity in colloidal based materials. Here we use optical microscopy, Brownian Dynamic simulations, and a new dynamic analysis to study grain boundary motion in quasi-2D colloidal bicrystals formed within inhomogeneous AC electric fields. We introduce "low-dimensional" models using reaction coordinates for condensation and global order that capture first passage times between critical configurations at each applied voltage. The resulting models reveal that equal sized domain

SUBMITTER: Edwards TD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4138518 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature