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SUMMARY:Glassy dynamics\, spinodal fluctuations\, and nucleation in suspen
 sions of colloidal hard rods and plates - Dijkstra\, M (Universiteit Utrec
 ht)
DTSTART:20130320T090000Z
DTEND:20130320T095000Z
UID:TALK44024@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Mustapha Amrani
DESCRIPTION:Using computer simulations we study nucleation in a colloidal 
 supension of hard rods. We study the kinetic pathways for the isotropic-to
 -nematic transition in a fluid of long hard rods\, and find spinodal decom
 position as well as nucleation and growth depending on the supersaturation
  [1]. In supersaturated isotropic fluid states of short hard rods\, we obs
 erve nucleation of multilayered crystalline clusters. At sufficiently high
  supersaturations\, we find that the nucleation is hampered by glassy dyna
 mics. For intermediat rods\, we find that the formation of the (stable) sm
 ectic phase out of a supersaturated isotropic state is strongly suppressed
  by an isotropic-nematic spinodal instability that causes huge spinodal-li
 ke orientation fluctuations with nematic clusters diverging in size [2]. I
 n suspensions of colloidal platelets\, we find that the cubatic phase is m
 etastable\, and that perpendicularly oriented particle stacks in the isotr
 opic fluid phase inhibits the formation of the columnar phase [3].\n\n[1] 
 A. Cuetos and M. Dijkstra\, Physical Review Letters 98\, 095701 (2007). [2
 ] R. Ni\, S. Belli\, R. van Roij\, and M. Dijkstra\, Physical Review Lette
 rs 105\, 088302 (2010). [3] M. Marechal\, A. Patti\, M. Dennison\, and M. 
 Dijkstra\, Physical Review Letters 108\, 206101 (2012).\n\n
LOCATION:Seminar Room 1\, Newton Institute
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