Shape-Controlled Colloidal Interactions In Nematic Liquid Crystals @ University of Colorado
July 7, 2010
:
C. Lapointe, T. Mason, I.I. Smalyukh
When an object, such as a colloidal particle, is put into a liquid crystal, it alters the otherwise uniform orientation of the molecules, creating a field of orientational disturbance around itself. If two or more objects are immersed, then their respective fields will overlap and, as a result, the objects can exert forces on one another. Center researchers are exploring the role of the shape of the colloidal particle in such liquid crystal-mediated interactions, showing that for flat sheets of polygonal shape the number of sides is a key property of the particle. The image shows 4.5x4.5 µm square x 1 µm thick particles interacting in a nematic liquid crystal, exhibiting a tendency to orient with their edges oriented at an angle of 45º from the long molecular axis (arrows), and to adhere to one another edge-to-edge
Related publication(s):
- Science 326, 1083-1086 (2009).
