Acoustic Crystallization of Two-dimensional Colloidal Crystals
Menath J, Mohammadi R, Grauer JC, Deters C, Böhm M, Liebchen B, Janssen LM, Loewen H, Vogel N (2022)
Publication Language: English
Publication Status: Published
Publication Type: Journal article, Original article
Publication year: 2022
Journal
Abstract
Two-dimensional colloidal crystallization provides a simple strategy to produce defined nanostructure arrays over macroscopic areas. Regularity and long-range order of such crystals is essential to ensure functionality, but difficult to achieve in self-assembling systems. Here, we introduce a simple loudspeaker setup for the acoustic crystallization of two-dimensional crystals (ACDC) of polystyrene, microgels, and core-shell colloidal particles at liquid interfaces. This setup anneals an interfacial colloidal monolayer and affords an increase in average grain size by almost two orders of magnitude. We characterize the order via the structural color of the colloidal crystal, optimize the acoustic annealing process via the frequency and the amplitude of the applied sound wave and rationalize its efficiency via the surface coverage-dependent interactions within the interfacial colloidal monolayer. Computer simulations show that multiple rearrangement mechanisms at different length scales, from the local rearrangement around voids to grain boundary movement via consecutive particle rotations around common centers, collude to remove defects. The experimentally simple ACDC process, paired with the demonstrated applicability towards complex particle systems, provides access to highly-defined nanostructure arrays for a wide range of research communities.
Authors with CRIS profile
Reza Mohammadi Eslami
Lehrstuhl für Feststoff- und Grenzflächenverfahrenstechnik
Nicolas Vogel
Professur für Partikelsynthese
Involved external institutions
Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf
Germany (DE)
Technische Universität Darmstadt
Germany (DE)
Eindhoven University of Technology / Technische Universiteit Eindhoven (TU/e)
Netherlands (NL)
Germany (DE)
Technische Universität Darmstadt
Germany (DE)
Eindhoven University of Technology / Technische Universiteit Eindhoven (TU/e)
Netherlands (NL)
How to cite
APA:
Menath, J., Mohammadi, R., Grauer, J.C., Deters, C., Böhm, M., Liebchen, B.,... Vogel, N. (2022). Acoustic Crystallization of Two-dimensional Colloidal Crystals. Advanced Materials. https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/adma.202206593
MLA:
Menath, Johannes, et al. "Acoustic Crystallization of Two-dimensional Colloidal Crystals." Advanced Materials (2022).
BibTeX: Download