화학공학소재연구정보센터
Chemistry Letters, Vol.46, No.6, 828-829, 2017
Colloidal Crystals with Low Crack Densities Formed on Polymer Hydrogel Surfaces
We report that close-packed colloidal crystals with low crack densities could be formed by evaporation method using polymer hydrogels as substrates. Aqueous dispersions of charged polystyrene particles (diameter = 600 nm) were dried on polyacrylamide gels. No distinct crack was observed in the resulting crystals, though many cracks (an area fraction approximate to 8%) were formed when glass substrates were used. This difference appears to be attributable to much longer crystallization time on the gel surface, due to continuous supply of water from inside the gel.