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Elastocapillary interaction for particles trapped at the isotropic-nematic liquid crystal interface
1Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, Centre de Recherche Paul Pascal (UMR 5031), 33600 Pessac, France.
Physical Review. E
|June 22, 2024
Summary
Particles at liquid crystal interfaces experience elastocapillary interactions. Anchoring conflicts drive attractive forces, enabling controlled self-assembly, while their absence leads to repulsion.
Area of Science:
- Soft Matter Physics
- Liquid Crystals
- Interfacial Science
Background:
- Particles at liquid crystal interfaces exhibit complex interactions.
- Elastocapillary forces arise from interfacial deformations and elastic distortions.
- Understanding these interactions is crucial for controlling particle self-assembly.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate pairwise interactions between particles at an isotropic-nematic liquid crystal interface.
- To quantify the influence of anchoring configurations on particle interactions.
- To explore the role of elastocapillary forces in particle self-assembly.
Main Methods:
- Numerical simulations using a phase-field model.
- Calculation of pair potentials for various particle separations.
- Analysis of two anchoring configurations: with and without anchoring conflict.
Main Results:
- An anchoring conflict induces significant interfacial deformations and attractive capillary forces.
- Attractive forces can overcome repulsive elastic forces at intermediate separations, leading to an equilibrium distance.
- Absence of anchoring conflict results in negligible capillary forces and purely repulsive interactions dominated by elastic forces.
Conclusions:
- Particle self-assembly at isotropic-nematic interfaces can be controlled by tuning anchoring conflicts.
- Elastocapillary interactions play a critical role in dictating particle behavior.
- The findings provide insights into designing self-assembling systems at liquid crystal interfaces.
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