Shape and Director Field Deformation of Tactoids of Plate-Like Colloids in a Magnetic Field

We investigated by means of polarization microscopy the influence of a magnetic field on the shape and director field of nematic droplets in dispersions of plate-like colloidal particles. To interpret the experimental observations, we put forward a simple theory in which we presume strong anchoring...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The journal of physical chemistry. B 2009-03, Vol.113 (12), p.3704-3708
Main Authors: Verhoeff, Aletta A, Otten, Ronald H. J, van der Schoot, Paul, Lekkerkerker, Henk N. W
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:We investigated by means of polarization microscopy the influence of a magnetic field on the shape and director field of nematic droplets in dispersions of plate-like colloidal particles. To interpret the experimental observations, we put forward a simple theory in which we presume strong anchoring and a sphero-cylindrical droplet shape. This model allows us to extract values for the interfacial tension and the splay elastic constant from the experimental data.
ISSN:1520-6106
1520-5207
DOI:10.1021/jp8068199