Nematoelasticity of hybrid molecular-colloidal liquid crystals

B. Senyuk, H. Mundoor, I. I. Smalyukh, and H. H. Wensink
Phys. Rev. E 104, 014703 – Published 19 July 2021

Abstract

Colloidal rods immersed in a thermotropic liquid-crystalline solvent are at the basis of so-called hybrid liquid crystals, which are characterized by tunable nematic fluidity with symmetries ranging from conventional uniaxial nematic or antinematic to orthorhombic [Mundoor et al., Science 360, 768 (2018)]. We provide a theoretical analysis of the elastic moduli of such systems by considering interactions between the individual rods with the embedding solvent through surface-anchoring forces, as well as steric and electrostatic interactions between the rods themselves. For uniaxial systems, the presence of colloidal rods generates a marked increase of the splay elasticity, which we found to be in quantitative agreement with experimental measurements. For orthorhombic hybrid liquid crystals, we provide estimates of all 12 elastic moduli and show that only a small subset of those elastic constants play a relevant role in describing the nematoelastic properties. The complexity and possibilities related to identifying the elastic moduli in experiments are briefly discussed.

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  • Received 8 April 2021
  • Accepted 25 June 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.104.014703

©2021 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Polymers & Soft Matter

Authors & Affiliations

B. Senyuk1, H. Mundoor1, I. I. Smalyukh1,2,3,4, and H. H. Wensink5,*

  • 1Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA
  • 2Department of Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering Program and Soft Materials Research Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA
  • 3Chemical Physics Program, Departments of Chemistry and Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA
  • 4Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute, National Renewable Energy Laboratory and University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA
  • 5Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, Université Paris-Saclay & CNRS, UMR 8502, 91405 Orsay, France

  • *rik.wensink@universite-paris-saclay.fr

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Vol. 104, Iss. 1 — July 2021

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