ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses dissipative structures of many kinds of suspensions and solutions including colloidal dispersions. Electrostatic interparticle interactions have been pointed out as one of the important factors for the dissipative structures. The colloidal crystal is undoubtedly one of the most simple and convenient systems for the study of dissipative structures on the laboratory scale. Macroscopic and microscopic dissipative structural patterns form in the course of drying a series of the colloidal dispersions including colloidal crystals of monodispersed colloidal silica spheres and polystyrene spheres. The convection flow of water accompanied with the particles occurs at the drying frontier between solution and substrate in the course of dryness, and interactions among the particles and substrate are important for the macroscopic pattern formation. The origin for the spoke-like patterns, whether cracks or ridge lines, is the many circle convection cells formed in the liquid phase in the course of drying of the suspension.
