The key-lock mechanism in nematic colloidal dispersions
arXiv:cond-mat/0312137 · doi:10.1103/PhysRevE.69.061402
Abstract
We consider the interaction of two-dimensional colloids, in nematic liquid crystals, with walls or geometrical boundaries. The interactions between colloidal disks and flat walls, with homeotropic boundary conditions, are always repulsive. The repulsions may be turned into strong attractions at structured or sculpted walls with cavities, matching closely the shape and size of the colloids. This key-lock type of interaction is analyzed in detail for spherocylindrical cavities of various length to breath ratios, by minimizing the Landau-de Gennes free energy functional of the orientational order parameter. We find that the attractions occur only for walls with cavities within a small range of the colloidal size and for a narrow range of orientations around the wall's symmetry axis.
9 figures. Resubmitted to PRE
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Cited by in corpus (7)
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- Experimental realization of the "lock-and-key" mechanism in liquid crystals
- Particle selection through topographic surface patterns in nematic colloids
- Generalized Berreman's model of the elastic surface free energy of a nematic liquid crystal on a sawtoothed substrate
- Sterically stabilized lock and key colloids: A self-consistent field theory study
- Key-Lock Colloids in a Nematic Liquid Crystal
- Pattern-induced anchoring transitions in nematic liquid crystals