Self‐Assembly: Liquid Crystal Order in Colloidal Suspensions of Spheroidal Particles by Direct Current Electric Field Assembly (Small 10/2012)

The cover picture features the self-assembly of anisotropic colloidal particles, which can improve the fundamental understanding of crystallization and the glass transition as well as be applied for materials with advanced optical and mechanical properties. A DC electric field device is used to rapidly self-assemble spheroids. The main image depicts a suspension of colloidal spheroids subject to a DC electric field, which leads to the formation of a crystalline phase. The confocal microscopy (CLSM) image of one such structure is shown between the electrodes, and the upper left corner shows a 3D rendering of the assembly, as generated by image processing of CLSM results. The electric field device is overlaid on a scanning electron microscopy image of the disordered spheroids, and the background image is a larger-scale confocal microscopy image of an electric-field-induced assembly. For further information, please read the Full Paper “Liquid Crystal Order in Colloidal Suspensions of Spheroidal Particles” by M. J. Solomon and co-workers beginning on page 1551. Image credit: Benjamin Schultz, Mahesh Ganesan, and Aayush A. Shah.