Abstract
Aqueous suspensions of vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) ribbons, also called Zocher phases, are known to display a lyotropic nematic phase. In this paper, it is shown how the small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) technique can provide useful information on the building blocks and their organization in this phase. SAXS experiments were performed either on unoriented samples or on samples aligned by a magnetic field or by shear flow. The scattering is comparable to that of the other classic lyotropic nematic phases displayed by stiff organic rod-like particles such as the tobacco mosaic virus. Scattering studies show that the building blocks have a ribbon shape, that their thickness is 9 (1) Å and indirectly that their width is several 100 Å. Their length is known to be around a few thousand Å and therefore could not be measured by SAXS. By following the average distance between the ribbons as a function of concentration, it is shown that the swelling of the phase is one-dimensional at large concentrations and two-dimensional at low concentrations. Finally, estimates of the nematic order parameter of a single domain sample and of samples sheared in a Couette cell have been obtained.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
