Interactions of micro-rods in a thin layer of a nematic liquid crystal
- 24 September 2008
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) in Soft Matter
- Vol. 4 (12), 2402-2409
- https://doi.org/10.1039/b807979j
Abstract
We present an experimental analysis of the topological properties of a nematic liquid crystal in the vicinity of small cylindrical objects (micro-rods), dispersed in the nematic liquid crystal 5CB (4-n-pentyl-4-cyanobiphenyl). Depending on the type of liquid crystal anchoring on the surfaces of micro-rods, we have observed two types of the symmetry in the surrounding liquid crystal molecules: dipolar and quadrupolar. Using the manipulation of micro-rods with laser tweezers, the strength and separation dependencies of various pair interaction potentials have been determined. Our results are in qualitative agreement with previous theoretical predictions for 2D interactions of micro-rods in the nematic liquid crystals.Keywords
This publication has 33 references indexed in Scilit:
- Two-Dimensional Nematic Colloidal Crystals Self-Assembled by Topological DefectsScience, 2006
- Static and dynamic properties of magnetic nanowires in nematic fluids (invited)Journal of Applied Physics, 2005
- Elastic Torque and the Levitation of Metal Wires by a Nematic Liquid CrystalScience, 2004
- Controlling the Orientation of Micron-Sized Rod-Shaped SiC Particles with Nematic Liquid Crystal SolventsChemistry of Materials, 2004
- Organizing Carbon Nanotubes with Liquid CrystalsNano Letters, 2002
- On-chip natural assembly of silicon photonic bandgap crystalsNature, 2001
- Negative Refraction Makes a Perfect LensPhysical Review Letters, 2000
- Novel Colloidal Interactions in Anisotropic FluidsScience, 1997
- Photonic crystals: putting a new twist on lightNature, 1997
- THE ELECTRODYNAMICS OF SUBSTANCES WITH SIMULTANEOUSLY NEGATIVE VALUES OF $\epsilon$ AND μSoviet Physics Uspekhi, 1968