Transformation between elastic dipoles, quadrupoles, octupoles and hexadecapoles driven by surfactant self-assembly in nematic emulsion

Emulsions comprising isotropic fluid drops within a nematic host are of interest for applications ranging from biodetection to smart windows, which rely on changes of molecular alignment structures around the drops in response to chemical, thermal, electric and other stimuli. We show that absorption...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inarXiv.org
Main Authors Senyuk, Bohdan, Mozaffari, Ali, Crust, Kevin, Zhang, Rui, de Pablo, Juan J, Smalyukh, Ivan I
Format Paper Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Ithaca Cornell University Library, arXiv.org 06.01.2022
Subjects
Desorption
Dipoles
Droplets
Emulsions
Multipoles
Physics - Materials Science
Physics - Soft Condensed Matter
Quadrupoles
Self-assembly
Smart materials
Surfactants
Transformations
Windows (apertures)
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Summary:Emulsions comprising isotropic fluid drops within a nematic host are of interest for applications ranging from biodetection to smart windows, which rely on changes of molecular alignment structures around the drops in response to chemical, thermal, electric and other stimuli. We show that absorption or desorption of trace amounts of common surfactants can drive continuous transformations of elastic multipoles induced by the droplets within the uniformly aligned nematic host. Out-of-equilibrium dynamics of director structures emerge from a controlled self-assembly or desorption of different surfactants at the drop-nematic interfaces, with ensuing forward and reverse transformations between elastic dipoles, quadrupoles, octupoles and hexadecapoles. We characterize inter-transformations of droplet-induced surface and bulk defects, probe elastic pair interactions and discuss emergent prospects for fundamental science and applications of the reconfigurable nematic emulsions.
ISSN:2331-8422
DOI:10.48550/arxiv.2201.02234