| Autor: |
Solodkov NV; School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK., Shim JU; School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK., Jones JC; School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK. j.c.jones@leeds.ac.uk. |
| Jazyk: |
angličtina |
| Zdroj: |
Nature communications [Nat Commun] 2019 Jan 14; Vol. 10 (1), pp. 198. Date of Electronic Publication: 2019 Jan 14. |
| DOI: |
10.1038/s41467-018-08210-w |
| Abstrakt: |
Nematic liquid crystals are anisotropic fluids that self-assemble into vector fields, which are governed by geometrical and topological laws. Consequently, particulate or droplet inclusions self-assemble in nematic domains through a balance of topological defects. Here, we use double emulsions of water droplets inside radial nematic liquid crystal droplets to form various structures, ranging from linear chains to three-dimensional fractal structures. The system is modeled as a formation of satellite droplets, distributed around a larger, central core droplet and we extend the problem to explain the formation of fractal structures. We show that a distribution of droplet sizes plays a key role in determining the symmetry properties of the resulting geometric structures. The results are relevant to a variety of inclusions, ranging from colloids suspensions to multi-emulsion systems. Such systems have potential applications for novel switchable photonic structures as well as providing wider insights into the packing of self-assembled structures. |
| Databáze: |
MEDLINE |
| Externí odkaz: |
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