TY - JOUR
T1 - Thermal and optical manipulation of morphology in cholesteric liquid crystal microdroplets constrained on microfibers
AU - Zhang, Yan Song
AU - Ma, Chia Lien
AU - Rudyak, Vladimir Yu
AU - Jiang, Shun An
AU - Shvetsov, Sergey A.
AU - Lin, Jia De
AU - Lee, Chia Rong
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) of Taiwan (contract numbers: MOST 109-2112-M-006-014-MY3 and MOST 109-2221-E-006-208-MY3) for financially supporting this research. The work in part of computer simulations was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR) (project no. 20-37-70036). The research was carried out using the equipment of the shared research facilities of HPC computing resources at Lomonosov Moscow State University.
Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) of Taiwan (contract numbers: MOST 109-2112-M-006-014-MY3 and MOST 109-2221-E-006-208-MY3 ) for financially supporting this research. The work in part of computer simulations was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR) (project no. 20-37-70036 ). The research was carried out using the equipment of the shared research facilities of HPC computing resources at Lomonosov Moscow State University.
PY - 2021/4/15
Y1 - 2021/4/15
N2 - Liquid crystals (LCs) are distinctive materials that are applicable to a wide range of disciplines, such as continuum mechanics, optics of anisotropic media, statistical physics, and crystallography. The diverse structures and eye-catching topological defects of LCs in confined geometries are affected by nematic elasticity, chirality, and surface anchoring. Herein, we report the formation and detailed configuration of cholesteric LC (CLC) microdroplets with different pitches pierced by electrospun poly(methyl methacrylate) microfibers. Two kinds of surface anchoring, namely, homeotropic anchoring at the air–CLC droplet interface and planar anchoring at the fiber–CLC droplet interface, coexist in this system. By controlling temperature and light irradiation, the system exhibits thermal- and photo-dependent LC morphological and topological evolutions. The observed structures are complemented by numerical simulations of possible director fields decorated by defects. The externally controllable CLC necklaces constitute extraordinary systems for exploring the morphology and topological defects and open a route for applications in topological remote control, nanoscience, biomedical research, and the development of devices based on topologically structured soft media.
AB - Liquid crystals (LCs) are distinctive materials that are applicable to a wide range of disciplines, such as continuum mechanics, optics of anisotropic media, statistical physics, and crystallography. The diverse structures and eye-catching topological defects of LCs in confined geometries are affected by nematic elasticity, chirality, and surface anchoring. Herein, we report the formation and detailed configuration of cholesteric LC (CLC) microdroplets with different pitches pierced by electrospun poly(methyl methacrylate) microfibers. Two kinds of surface anchoring, namely, homeotropic anchoring at the air–CLC droplet interface and planar anchoring at the fiber–CLC droplet interface, coexist in this system. By controlling temperature and light irradiation, the system exhibits thermal- and photo-dependent LC morphological and topological evolutions. The observed structures are complemented by numerical simulations of possible director fields decorated by defects. The externally controllable CLC necklaces constitute extraordinary systems for exploring the morphology and topological defects and open a route for applications in topological remote control, nanoscience, biomedical research, and the development of devices based on topologically structured soft media.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.molliq.2021.115383
DO - 10.1016/j.molliq.2021.115383
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85099886030
VL - 328
JO - Journal of Molecular Liquids
JF - Journal of Molecular Liquids
SN - 0167-7322
M1 - 115383
ER -