Microparticles confined to a nematic liquid crystal shell Auteur(s): Gharbi M. A., Sec David, Lopez-Leon T., Nobili M., Ravnik Miha, Zumer Slobodan, Blanc C. (Article) Publié: Soft Matter, vol. 9 p.6911 (2013) Ref HAL: hal-00840285_v1 DOI: 10.1039/c3sm00126a WoS: 000321273000036 Exporter : BibTex | endNote 41 Citations Résumé: A seminal paper [D. R. Nelson, Nano Lett., 2002, 2, 1125.] has proposed that a nematic coating could be used to create a valency for spherical colloidal particles through the functionalization of nematic topological defects. Experimental realizations however question the complex behaviour of solid particles and defects embedded in such a nematic spherical shell. In order to address the related topological and geometrical issues, we have studied micrometer-sized silica beads trapped in nematic shells. We underline the mechanisms that strongly modify the texture of the simple (particle-free) shells when colloidal particles are embedded. Finally, we show how the coupling between capillarity and nematic elasticity offers new ways to control the valence and directionality of shells. |