Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Ordered droplet structures at the liquid crystal surface and elastic-capillary colloidal interactions.

I I Smalyukh1, S Chernyshuk, B I Lev

  • 1Liquid Crystal Institute and Chemical Physics Interdisciplinary Program, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242, USA.

Physical Review Letters
|September 28, 2004
PubMed
Summary

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Dynamics and Topology of Symmetry Breaking with Skyrmions.

Physical review letters·2024
Same author

Optical control of light polarization in heliconical cholesteric liquid crystals.

Optics letters·2022
Same author

Dynamics of the refractive index in Langmuir monolayers.

The European physical journal. E, Soft matter·2022
Same author

Double-twisted nematic director configurations in cylindrical capillaries with a photocontrollable angle of twist.

Physical review. E·2021
Same author

Nematoelasticity of hybrid molecular-colloidal liquid crystals.

Physical review. E·2021
Same author

Ground state and peculiarity of particle interactions in liquid crystal colloids.

The European physical journal. E, Soft matter·2020

Colloidal particles at liquid crystal surfaces form ordered patterns like hexagonal structures. This surface interaction, driven by elastic-capillary forces, creates attraction, unlike bulk particle behavior.

Area of Science:

  • Soft Matter Physics
  • Materials Science
  • Colloidal Science

Background:

  • Colloidal particles in liquid crystal (LC) bulk exhibit unique interactions.
  • Surface phenomena in LC systems are less explored compared to bulk interactions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the self-assembly and interactions of colloidal particles at the free surface of nematic liquid crystals.
  • To characterize the novel interactions arising from surface placement.

Main Methods:

  • Experimental observation of colloidal droplet patterns on a nematic liquid crystal free surface.
  • Analysis of particle-induced director deformations and interface distortions.
  • Theoretical consideration of elastic-capillary and buoyancy-capillary forces.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • Ordered patterns, including hexagonal structures and chains, were formed by colloidal particles.
  • A new particle interaction mechanism involving interface distortion and capillary attraction was identified.
  • Elastic-capillary coupling was found to dominate over buoyancy-capillary forces at the micron scale.

Conclusions:

  • Colloidal particle placement at nematic LC surfaces leads to novel elastic-capillary mediated attractions.
  • These surface interactions drive the formation of ordered colloidal structures.
  • The findings offer new insights into interfacial phenomena in soft matter systems.