8th Liquid Matter Conference September 6-10, 2011 Wien, Austria ...

P5.132Wed 711:10-14:00Current-induced colloidal heterogeneous nucleation in2D on attractive seedsAlexander Reinmüller, 1 Hans Joachim Schöpe, 1 Thomas Palberg, 1 Erdal C.Oguz, 2 René Messina, 2 and Hartmut Löwen 21 Institut für Physik, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Staudingerweg 7, 55128,Mainz, Germany2 Institut für theoretische Physik II, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf,GermanyWe here report the experimental observation of heterogeneous nucleation events of charged colloidalparticles in 2D aqueous suspensions close to effectively attractive seeds. Presence of acharged wall and low background ion concentrations are of central importance for this effect. Thenucleation process is driven by convective currents that are induced by the interaction betweenthe electrochemical double layer of the substrate and gradients of ions released by the seeds. Particlesclose to the substrate experience a converging flow and move radial towards the seed thusenhancing the local particle concentration. Subsequently crystallization in a triangular monolayerstructure occurs. This effect might be useful for template self-organization and patterning applicationsin 2D.132