Elastocapillary interactions on nematic films.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 25941380.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1073/pnas.1504817112 and PMC identifier 4443359.
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Abstract
Rod-like colloids distort fluid interfaces and interact by capillarity. We explore this interaction at the free surface of aligned nematic liquid crystal films. Naive comparison of capillary and elastic energies suggests that particle assembly would be determined solely by surface tension. Here, we demonstrate that, under certain circumstances, the capillary and elastic effects are complementary and each plays an important role. Particles assemble end-to-end, as dictated by capillarity, and align along the easy axis of the director field, as dictated by elasticity. On curved fluid interfaces, however, curvature capillary energies can overcome the elastic orientations and drive particle migration along curvature gradients. Domains of dominant interaction and their transition are investigated.