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This research is being supported by the European Commission 7th Framework Program via the Marie Curie Fellowship PIEF-GA-2007-220557 (G.C.) and by the Italian Ministero dell'Universita e della Ricerca via the PRIN "Trasferimento di energia, cariche e molecole in sistemi complessi" (L. DeG.). J.S. van Duijneveldt and A. Tani are thanked for the critical reading of the manuscript.

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Two-Step Mechanism of Rotational Relaxation in Lamellar Phases of Rods: Accelerating Effect of the Addition of Spheres

Publicado en:PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS. 103 (25): 257801- - 2009-12-18 103(25), DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.103.257801

Autores: Cinacchi, Giorgio; De Gaetani, Luca

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Resumen

By using computer simulation on a model colloidal rod-sphere mixture in its lamellar phase, the mechanism responsible for the rod rotational relaxation has been definitely identified and characterized. It consists of two steps: first, a rod, parallel to the director, has to escape from the layer in which it is located and go into the interlayer region mostly populated by spheres, perpendicular to the director; then, it has to insinuate again into one of the adjacent layers, with 50% of probability of resulting antiparallel to the director. While this mechanism is also operating in a pure smectic phase of rods, the presence of spheres increases notably its efficacy, thus promoting the rotational relaxation and facilitating its observation.

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