Janus Nematic Colloids with Designable Valance

Materials

Simon Čopar¹  Miha Ravnik¹ 

[1] Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, University of Ljubljana, Jadranska 19, Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia; E-Mails:

关键词: Janus colloids;    nematic liquid crystal;    surface anchoring;    valence;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ma7064272

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Generalized Janus nematic colloids based on various morphologies of particle surface patches imposing homeotropic and planar surface anchoring are demonstrated. By using mesoscopic numerical modeling, multiple types of Janus particles are explored, demonstrating a variety of novel complex colloidal structures. We also show binding of Janus particles to a fixed Janus post in the nematic cell, which acts as a seed and a micro-anchor for the colloidal structure. Janus colloidal structures reveal diverse topological defect configurations, which are effectively combinations of surface boojum and bulk defects. Topological analysis is applied to defects, importantly showing that topological charge is not a well determined topological invariant in such patchy nematic Janus colloids. Finally, this work demonstrates colloidal structures with designable valence, which could allow for targeted and valence-conditioned self-assembly at micro- and nano-scale.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.