****Technical Abstract**** The study of inclusions suspended in liquid crystals can lead to important new insight about the viscoelastic and interfacial properties of these materials and can further create novel platforms for the manipulation and self-assembly of particles through unique anisotropic interactions engendered by the fluids. In addition, particle-dispersed liquid crystals hold technological promise as composite materials with enhanced properties deriving from the coupling of the particles to the liquid crystalline order. This work aims to advance substantially our fundamental understanding of and control over the behavior of inclusions in liquid crystals by investigating several promising new classes of systems and particle interactions. Among the specific topics on which the research will focus include nanoparticle dispersions in smectic liquid crystals, particle- and defect-laden nematics flowing in microfluidic arrays, and anisotropic transport of particles and ions in liquid crystals. The broader impacts of the project will include research training and education for graduate and undergraduate students in physics that will prepare them for careers in academia and industry. The project will also enable continuation and expansion of a partnership with a local science magnet high school to provide talented Baltimore City students with opportunities for research internships.
Liquid crystals are fluids composed of rod-shaped molecules in which the molecules arrange themselves to be more ordered than in an ordinary liquid but less so than in a crystalline solid. Examples include nematic liquid crystals where the molecules orient along a common direction and smectic liquid crystals where the molecules form layers. When an impurity like a small particle is suspended in such a fluid, it can disrupt this order leading to novel effects, such as the spontaneous assembly of the particles into patterns or the deflection of particles away from a force causing them to move. The impurities can also endow the fluids with enhanced material characteristics, such as unique optical and magnetic properties. This project will investigate experimentally several classes of inclusions in liquid crystals, including nanometer-scale particles and molecules that carry electrical current, which promise potentially significant impact on research and technology but which have been the subject of little previous study. The broader impacts of the project will include research training and education for graduate and undergraduate students in physics that will prepare them for careers in academia and industry. The project will also enable continuation and expansion of a partnership with a local science magnet high school to provide talented Baltimore City students with opportunities for research internships.
