Tuning crack pattern by phase separation in the drying of binary colloid-polymer suspension

Drying the colloidal suspension leads to the versatile crack patterns, where the microstructure formed during the drying process determines crack patterns. Here, the polymer is introduced into a silica suspension to tune the crack arrangement in the drying deposit. Five dominated types of crack patterns are defined by varying the ratio of nanoparticles to polymer. Two phase separation processes are proposed to explain the spatial characteristics of the crack patterns: the depletion-induced phase separation of particles and polymer in their mixture; and the separation of water and particle (or polymer) clusters by the water drainage.