Controlling Liquid Crystal Boojum Defects on Fixed Microparticle Arrays via Capillarity-Assisted Particles Assembly
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내용
Colloidal particles in nematic liquid crystals (LCs) are of significant interest for fundamental research and self-assembly systems. When two separate particles approach in a uniaxially-aligned nematic LC media, the distorted nematic configuration around them creates an elastic force that causes the particles to self-assemble. However, interactions between boojum defects on colloidal particles have not yet been experimentally detected over large areas. Here, we designed tailored arrays of spherical microparticles using capillary-assisted particle assembly (CAPA) in order to study how boojum defects interact and to explore different types of interactions as a function of particle separation. Nematic textures are observed by polarized optical microscopy, and the nematic configuration is reconstructed by numerical modeling. Our findings open up new opportunities for controlling defect interactions and pave the way for topology-related research and new LC film applications in the future.