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Key-lock colloids in a nematic liquid crystal.

Nuno M Silvestre1,2, M Tasinkevych3,4

  • 1Departamento de Física da Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, P-1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal.

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|February 18, 2017
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This study uses Landau-de Gennes free energy to model interactions between key and lock colloidal particles in liquid crystals. A stable key-lock complex forms when the key particle aligns with the lock particle's dimple, important for self-organization.

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Area of Science:

  • Soft Matter Physics
  • Colloidal Science
  • Liquid Crystal Theory

Background:

  • Colloidal particles in liquid crystals exhibit complex interactions.
  • Anisotropic particles and surface anchoring influence self-assembly.
  • Understanding these interactions is key to designing novel materials.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To theoretically investigate the effective interaction between spherical "key" and anisotropic "lock" colloidal particles.
  • To analyze the role of anchoring conditions (planar degenerate and perpendicular) on particle interaction.
  • To explore the self-organization potential of these particle mixtures.

Main Methods:

  • Utilizing the Landau-de Gennes free energy formalism.
  • Modeling the "lock" particle as a sphere with a spherical dimple.
  • Minimizing free energy to determine stable configurations and orientations.
  • Considering identical surface anchoring properties for both particle types.

Main Results:

  • A global minimum in free energy is found when the key particle faces the lock particle's dimple.
  • The key-lock composite doublet exhibits a stable orientation robust against thermal fluctuations.
  • The dimple particle's orientation in the doublet differs from its isolated state due to defect interactions.
  • Nematic-amplified interaction is identified as a significant factor.

Conclusions:

  • The nematic-amplified key-lock interaction drives stable doublet formation.
  • This interaction is crucial for self-organization and clustering in colloidal mixtures containing dimple colloids.
  • The findings offer insights into designing and controlling colloidal self-assembly in liquid crystals.