Structure and dynamics of dense colloidal ellipsoids at the nearest-neighbor length scale

Anisotropic particles are known to exhibit a richer and more complex phase behavior in comparison to their spherical counterpart. While the majority of the existing studies address structural properties, the dynamic behavior of anisotropic particles is a relatively lesser explored avenue. Using multispeckle ultra-small-angle x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (USA-XPCS), we have carried out a systematic investigation of the structural and dynamic properties of colloidal ellipsoids at the nearest-neighbor length scale. The USA-XPCS measurements have allowed us to probe, as a function of the volume fraction, the q-dependent effective structure factor, S-eff(q), along with the effective long time diffusion coefficient, D-eff(q), for this anisotropic system. Our results indicate a scaling behavior of Deff(q) with 1/S-eff(q) from which we have estimated the effective amplitude function A(eff)(q), which can be directly related to the effective hydrodynamic function H-eff(q). A(eff)(q) shows a similar q dependence to that of S(q). Our investigation also allows for the precise determination of the volume fraction corresponding to the arrest transition.