Phase Transitions Colloidal Su

The first five articles in this issue emphasize equilibrium phases and structures. The hard sphere properties of sterically stabilized particle suspensions are examined in the article by van Megan, Pusey and Bartlett, a colloidal compound is discussed by Hachisu and attractive interactions are shown to produce a full complement of phase transitions including a liquid/gas transition by Emmett and Vincent. Recent theoretical interest in the nature of melting in two dimensions has led to the investigation of the melting transition in colloidal systems where the particles are constrained to a single layer. Murray, Van Winkle and Wenk present experimental results supporting the view that two dimensional melting is mediated by two second order transitions, while Tang, Armstrong, Mockler and O'Sullivan present results suggesting a first order process in a similar colloidal monolayer. Because colloidal crystals may be disrupted and melted by relatively weak shear flows, a number of studies of the crystallization process are possible. The remaining articles in this issue are directed to aspects of this process. Russel develops traditional crystallization theories for application to colloidal systems. Aastuen, Clark, Swindal and Muzny present measurements of the nucleation rate density in charge stabilized suspensions, while Smits, Briels, Duijneveldt, Dhont and Lekkerkerker study the influence of the steric stabilizing layer on the crystallization rate. Scattering and microscopic techniques are used to identify the structures formed during and after crystallization in dilute charge stabilized suspensions by Hartl, Klemp and Versmold and in more concentrated suspensions by Sogami and Yoshiyama and by Monovoukas and Gast.

Table of Contents:
Free-expansion melting of two dimensional colloidal crystals, Y.Tang et al; digital imaging studies of sibmicron colloidal spheres confined into a single layer between two smooth glass plates - two dimensional melting, C.A.Murray et al; on the dynamics of the disorder-order transition, W.B.Russel; determination of the colloidal crystal nucleation rate density, D.J.W.Aastuen et al; effect of the stabilizing coating and the presence of free polymer on the rate of crystallization of colloidal systems, C.Smits et al; Kossel line analysis on crystallization in collodial suspensions, I.S.Sogami and T.Yoshiyama; microstructure identification during crystallization of charged colloidal suspensions, Y.Monovoukas and A.P.Gast; phase separation in dispersions of weakly interacting particles induced by non-adsorbing polymer, S.Emmett and B.Vincent; phase behaviour of dispersions of hard spherical particles, W.Van Megan et al; crystallization and characterization of crystallites in charge stabilized suspensions, W.Hartl et al; NaCl structure in a mixture of silica and gold sols, S.Hachisu.