Petukhov A V, van der Beek D, Dullens R P A, Dolbnya I P, Vroege G J, Lekkerkerker H N W
Van't Hoff Laboratory for Physical and Colloid Chemistry, Debye Institute, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Phys Rev Lett. 2005 Aug 12;95(7):077801. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.95.077801. Epub 2005 Aug 9.
We report the observation of a new type of columnar liquid crystal phase, which is formed by thin hard colloidal disks in a dense suspension. High-resolution small-angle x-ray diffraction reveals a combination of long-range bond-orientational order and short-range translational order between the columns, the hallmark of the hexatic phase. Our results imply that geometric frustration related to the size polydispersity of the particles destroys long-range translational order and therefore promotes the formation of this novel phase.
