Confining blue phase colloids to thin layers

Miha Ravnik; Jun-ichi Fukuda; Julia M. Yeomans; Slobodan Žumer

doi:10.1039/C1SM05707C

This website uses cookies to give you the best user experience. If you continue without changing your settings we'll assume you are happy to receive all RSC cookies. You can change your cookie settings by navigating to our Privacy and Cookies page and following the instructions. These instructions are also obtainable from the privacy link at the bottom of any RSC page.

skip RSC | ChemSpider | Feedback

Home > Journals > Soft Matter > Confining blue phase co...

For Authors & Referees | For Librarians | For Members

You do not have JavaScript enabled. Please enable JavaScript to access the full features of the site or access our non-JavaScript page.

Soft Matter

Issue 21, 2011

Where physics meets chemistry meets biology for fundamental soft matter research.

Impact Factor 4.39 48 Issues per Year

Journal Home

Previous Article | Next Article

Paper

Confining blue phase colloids to thin layers

Miha Ravnik,^a^b Jun-ichi Fukuda,^c^b Julia M. Yeomans^a and Slobodan Žumer^b^d^e

Show Affiliations

Hide Affiliations

Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics, University of Oxford, 1 Keble Road, Oxford, UK

Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, University of Ljubljana, Jadranska 19, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Nanosystem Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 1-1-1 Umezono, Tsukuba, Japan

J. Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Center of Excellence NAMASTE, Jamova 39, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Soft Matter, 2011,7, 10144-10150

DOI: 10.1039/C1SM05707C
Received 19 Apr 2011, Accepted 26 Jul 2011
First published online 19 Sep 2011

Please wait while Download options loads

Download Citation

Request Permissions

Abstract
Cited by
Related Content

Colloidal assembly in strongly confined cholesteric structures is demonstrated using phenomenological modelling. Particle trapping sites and trapping potentials, which are intrinsically imposed by the strongly anisotropic orientational profile of the confined blue phases, are calculated. Locations of the trapping sites and profiles of the trapping potentials are shown to depend importantly on the particle size, and the array of trapping sites can even change symmetry. Trapping sites provide robust binding of various colloidal structures with binding energy of [similar] 100kT for 100 nm particles. Maximising the filling of the trapping sites by particles proves to lower the full free energy of the system, offering means for thermodynamic stabilisation of confined blue phases. Finally, we present formation of disclination cages, formed as a three-dimensional closed network of defect lines surrounding sufficiently large particles with strong homeotropic anchoring.