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Shape and structural relaxation of colloidal tactoids

Author

Listed:
  • Hamed Almohammadi

    (ETH Zurich)

  • Sayyed Ahmad Khadem

    (McGill University
    Canada (QCAM/CQMF))

  • Massimo Bagnani

    (ETH Zurich)

  • Alejandro D. Rey

    (McGill University
    Canada (QCAM/CQMF))

  • Raffaele Mezzenga

    (ETH Zurich
    ETH Zurich)

Abstract

Facile geometric-structural response of liquid crystalline colloids to external fields enables many technological advances. However, the relaxation mechanisms for liquid crystalline colloids under mobile boundaries remain still unexplored. Here, by combining experiments, numerical simulations and theory, we describe the shape and structural relaxation of colloidal liquid crystalline micro-droplets, called tactoids, where amyloid fibrils and cellulose nanocrystals are used as model systems. We show that tactoids shape relaxation bears a universal single exponential decay signature and derive an analytic expression to predict this out of equilibrium process, which is governed by liquid crystalline anisotropic and isotropic contributions. The tactoids structural relaxation shows fundamentally different paths, with first- and second-order exponential decays, depending on the existence of splay/bend/twist orientation structures in the ground state. Our findings offer a comprehensive understanding on dynamic confinement effects in liquid crystalline colloidal systems and may set unexplored directions in the development of novel responsive materials.

Suggested Citation

  • Hamed Almohammadi & Sayyed Ahmad Khadem & Massimo Bagnani & Alejandro D. Rey & Raffaele Mezzenga, 2022. "Shape and structural relaxation of colloidal tactoids," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:13:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-022-30123-y
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30123-y
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Yunfeng Li & Jeffrey Jun-Yan Suen & Elisabeth Prince & Egor M. Larin & Anna Klinkova & Héloïse Thérien-Aubin & Shoujun Zhu & Bai Yang & Amr S. Helmy & Oleg D. Lavrentovich & Eugenia Kumacheva, 2016. "Colloidal cholesteric liquid crystal in spherical confinement," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 7(1), pages 1-11, November.
    2. Jong-Hyun Kim & Makoto Yoneya & Hiroshi Yokoyama, 2002. "Tristable nematic liquid-crystal device using micropatterned surface alignment," Nature, Nature, vol. 420(6912), pages 159-162, November.
    3. Ivan Usov & Gustav Nyström & Jozef Adamcik & Stephan Handschin & Christina Schütz & Andreas Fall & Lennart Bergström & Raffaele Mezzenga, 2015. "Understanding nanocellulose chirality and structure–properties relationship at the single fibril level," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 6(1), pages 1-11, November.
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    Cited by:

    1. Hamed Almohammadi & Sandra Martinek & Ye Yuan & Peter Fischer & Raffaele Mezzenga, 2023. "Disentangling kinetics from thermodynamics in heterogeneous colloidal systems," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-9, December.
    2. Han Tao & Carlo Rigoni & Hailong Li & Antti Koistinen & Jaakko V. I. Timonen & Jiancheng Zhou & Eero Kontturi & Orlando J. Rojas & Guang Chu, 2023. "Thermodynamically controlled multiphase separation of heterogeneous liquid crystal colloids," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-14, December.

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