Interactions of quadrupolar nematic colloids

We present experimental and theoretical study of colloidal interactions in quadrupolar nematic liquid crystal colloids, confined to a thin planar nematic cell. Using the laser tweezers, the particles have been positioned in the vicinity of other colloidal particles and their interactions have been d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics Vol. 77; no. 3 Pt 1; p. 031705
Main Authors: Skarabot, M, Ravnik, M, Zumer, S, Tkalec, U, Poberaj, I, Babic, D, Osterman, N, Musevic, I
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States 01-03-2008
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Summary:We present experimental and theoretical study of colloidal interactions in quadrupolar nematic liquid crystal colloids, confined to a thin planar nematic cell. Using the laser tweezers, the particles have been positioned in the vicinity of other colloidal particles and their interactions have been determined using particle tracking video microscopy. Several types of interactions have been analyzed: (i) quadrupolar pair interaction, (ii) the interaction of an isolated quadrupole with a quadrupolar chain, and (iii) the interaction of an isolated quadrupolar colloidal particle with a two-dimensional (2D) quadrupolar crystallite. In all cases, the interactions are of the order of several 100k(B)T for 2 microm particles, which gives rise to relatively stable 2D colloidal crystals. The experimental results are compared to the predictions of Landau-de Gennes theory and we find a relatively good qualitative agreement.
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ISSN:1539-3755
1550-2376
DOI:10.1103/physreve.77.031705