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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Published in: | Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics Vol. 77; no. 3 Pt 1; p. 031705 |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
Format: | Journal Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
United States
01-03-2008
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Online Access: | Get full text |
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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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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 1539-3755 1550-2376 |
DOI: | 10.1103/physreve.77.031705 |