  -- A scientific hurdle in manufacturing solid films by drying colloidal
layers is preventing them from fracturing. This paper examines how the drying
rate of colloidal liquids influences the particle packing at the nanoscale in
correlation with the crack patterns observed at the macroscale. Increasing the
drying rate results in more ordered, denser solid structures, and the dried
samples have more cracks.Yet, introducing a holding period (at a prescribed
point) during the drying protocol results in a more disordered solid structure
with significantly less cracks. To interpret these observations, this paper
conjectures that a longer drying protocol favors the formation of aggregates.
It is further argued that the number and size of the aggregates increase as the
drying rate decreases. This results in the formation of a more disordered,
porous film from the viewpoint of the particle packing, and a more resistant
film, i.e. less cracks, from the macroscale viewpoint.
