Elasticity-mediated self-organization and colloidal interactions of solid spheres with tangential anchoring in a nematic liquid crystal

TL;DR

This study investigates how solid microspheres in a nematic liquid crystal interact and self-organize due to elastic distortions, revealing chain formation and complex structures influenced by surface anchoring and concentration.

Contribution

It provides new insights into colloidal interactions mediated by elastic distortions in nematic liquid crystals with tangential anchoring, including force characterization and structural organization.

Findings

Particles form chains at ~30 degrees to the director

Higher concentrations lead to kinetically trapped structures

Interaction forces depend on distance and angle

Abstract

Using laser tweezers and fluorescence confocal polarizing microscopy, we study colloidal interactions of solid microspheres in the nematic bulk caused by elastic distortions around the particles with strong tangential surface anchoring. The particles aggregate into chains directed at about 30 degrees to the far field director and, at higher concentrations, form complex kinetically trapped structures. We characterize the distance and angular dependencies of the colloidal interaction forces.