Colloidal templating at a cholesteric - oil interface: Assembly guided by an array of disclination lines

Abstract

We simulate colloids (radius $R\sim 1\mu$m) trapped at the interface between a cholesteric liquid crystal and an immiscible oil, at which the helical order (pitch p) in the bulk conflicts with the orientation induced at the interface, stabilizing an ordered array of disclinations. For weak anchoring strength W of the director field at the colloidal surface, this creates a template, favoring particle positions eitheron top of or midway between defect lines, depending on $\alpha =R/p$. For small $\alpha$, optical microscopy experiments confirm this picture, but for larger $\alpha$ no templating is seen. This may stem from the emergence at moderate W of a rugged energy landscape associated with defect reconnections.

5 pages, 4 figures

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• Lattice Boltzmann modeling of cholesteric liquid crystal droplets under an oscillatory electric field
• Wetting of cholesteric liquid crystals
• Control of colloidal placement by modulated molecular orientation in nematic cells
• Colloidal Particles at Chiral Liquid Crystal Interfaces