Premelting at Defects Within Bulk Colloidal Crystals
Abstract
Premelting is the localized loss of crystalline order at surfaces and defects at temperatures below the bulk melting transition. It can be thought of as the nucleation of the melting process. Premelting has been observed at the surfaces of crystals but not within. We report observations of premelting at grain boundaries and dislocations within bulk colloidal crystals using real-time video microscopy. The crystals are equilibrium close-packed, three-dimensional colloidal structures made from thermally responsive microgel spheres. Particle tracking reveals increased disorder in crystalline regions bordering defects, the amount of which depends on the type of defect, distance from the defect, and particle volume fraction. Our observations suggest that interfacial free energy is the crucial parameter for premelting in colloidal and atomic-scale crystals.
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We thank T. Lubensky, D. Discher, R. Kamien, E. Burstein, C. Crouch, and T. Sinno for useful discussions. This work was supported by NSF through grants DMR-0203378 and DMR-079909 (Materials Research Science and Engineering Center) and by NASA (NAG8-2172). P.J.C. acknowledges the support of the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund.
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Science
Volume 309 | Issue 5738
19 August 2005
19 August 2005
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American Association for the Advancement of Science.
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Received: 17 March 2005
Accepted: 24 May 2005
Published in print: 19 August 2005
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