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Microfluidic Preparation of Liquid Crystalline Elastomer Actuators
Published on: May 20, 2018
Liquid-crystal mediated nanoparticle interactions and gel formation.
Jonathan K Whitmer1, Abhijeet A Joshi, Tyler F Roberts
1Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706-1691, USA.
The Journal of Chemical Physics
|May 24, 2013
Summary
Computer simulations reveal that colloidal particles in liquid crystals form gel-like aggregates due to anisotropic interactions. These interactions, influenced by anchoring effects, can induce gel states in both isotropic and nematic phases.
Area of Science:
- Soft Matter Physics
- Materials Science
- Colloid Science
Background:
- Colloidal particles in liquid crystals experience anisotropic interactions.
- These interactions are driven by the orientation of liquid crystal molecules near particle surfaces.
- Such phenomena can lead to the formation of complex, gel-like aggregate structures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To computationally investigate the interactions between nanoparticles in mesogenic solvents.
- To quantify the potential of mean force between two nanoparticles as a function of surface anchoring.
- To explore the conditions under which gel states can be induced in isotropic and nematic liquid crystal phases.
Main Methods:
- Utilized coarse-grained mesogen computer simulations.
- Performed molecular-level calculations of the potential of mean force.
- Analyzed interactions across conditions straddling the isotropic-nematic transition.
Main Results:
- Observed strong, non-trivial interactions between dispersed nanoparticles in mesogenic solvents.
- Demonstrated that anchoring effects significantly influence inter-particle forces.
- Identified a correlation between particle interactions and the potential for gel formation.
Conclusions:
- Anisotropic interactions between colloidal particles in liquid crystals are significant.
- Surface anchoring plays a crucial role in mediating these interactions.
- The findings suggest pathways to engineer gel states in liquid crystal systems through controlled particle interactions.
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