Molecular-colloidal liquid crystals

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• Professor Ivan I. Smalyukh, Department of Physics, Materials Science and Engineering Program and Soft Materials Research Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA
• Friday 15 March 2019, 14:00-15:00
• Mech Eng - G34.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Dr Dwaipayan Chakrabarti.

School Seminar hosted by Dr Dwaipayan Chakrabarti

Coexistence of order and fluidity enables functioning of biological membranes and liquid crystal displays alike, but only a few of many possible distinct realizations of such ordered fluid states have been demonstrated so far. I will discuss how we disperse shape-anisotropic inorganic colloidal nanoparticles in a nematic fluid host of nanometer-long rod-like organic molecules [1]. These building blocks, while freely diffusing around, interact to spontaneously form new types of optically biaxial nematic fluids [1,2] and low-symmetry colloidal crystals [3] with facile responses to electric and magnetic fields. I will discuss how such soft matter physical behavior may enable new applications in electro-optics, photonics and renewable energy.

1. H. Mundoor, S. Park, B. Senyuk, H. Wensink & I. I. Smalyukh. Science 360, 768-771 (2018).

2. Q. Liu, P.J. Ackerman, T. C. Lubensky & I. I. Smalyukh. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 113, 10479–10484 (2016).

3. H. Mundoor, B. Senyuk & I. I. Smalyukh. Science 352, 69-73 (2016).

This talk is part of the School of Chemistry Seminars series.

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• Mech Eng - G34
• School of Chemistry Seminars

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