Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Behavior of colloidal particles at a nematic liquid crystal interface †

2010; Royal Society of Chemistry; Volume: 7; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1039/c0sm00863j

1744-6848

Mohamed Amine Gharbi, Maurizio Nobili, Martin In, G. Prévôt, P. Galatola, Jean‐Baptiste Fournier, Christophe Blanc,

Surfactants and Colloidal Systems

We examine the behavior of spherical silica particles trapped at an air–nematic liquid crystal interface. When a strong normal anchoring is imposed, the beads spontaneously form various structures depending on their area density and the nematic thickness. Using optical tweezers, we determine the pair potential and explain the formation of these patterns. The energy profile is discussed in terms of capillary and elastic interactions. Finally, we detail the mechanisms that control the formation of a hexagonal lattice and analyze the role of gravity for curved interfaces.