Masters literature study

Preparations and properties of colloidal cubes

Literature study at the Van't Hoff Laboratory for Physical and Colloid Chemistry, Utrecht University. Supervisor: prof. dr. Albert Philipse.

This literature study is divided into two parts. The first part considers preparations of colloidal cubes of various materials. It becomes clear that due to the different material properties certain cuboids are sharp or truncated whereas others have a smooth, dice-like shape — being a special case of superellipsoids. The second part of this study treats several general properties of cubes. This includes size and shape, a first order estimate of the friction factor, depletion interaction and the stability of a crystal facet.