IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v6y2015i1d10.1038_ncomms8603.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Creation and manipulation of topological states in chiral nematic microspheres

Author

Listed:
  • Tetiana Orlova

    (Laboratoire Ondes et Matière d'Aquitaine, University of Bordeaux, CNRS)

  • Sarah Jane Aßhoff

    (Laboratory for Biomolecular Nanotechnology, MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente)

  • Tadatsugu Yamaguchi

    (Laboratory for Biomolecular Nanotechnology, MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente)

  • Nathalie Katsonis

    (Laboratory for Biomolecular Nanotechnology, MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente)

  • Etienne Brasselet

    (Laboratoire Ondes et Matière d'Aquitaine, University of Bordeaux, CNRS)

Abstract

Topology is a universal concept that is encountered in daily life and is known to determine many static and dynamical properties of matter. Taming and controlling the topology of materials therefore constitutes a contemporary interdisciplinary challenge. Building on the controllable spatial properties of soft matter appears as a relevant strategy to address the challenge, in particular, because it may lead to paradigmatic model systems that allow checking theories experimentally. Here we report experimentally on a wealth of complex free-standing metastable topological architectures at the micron scale, in frustrated chiral nematic droplets. These results support recent works predicting the formation of free-standing knotted and linked disclination structures in confined chiral nematic fluids. We also demonstrate that various kinds of external fields (thermal, electrical and optical) can be used to achieve topological remote control. All this may foster the development of new devices based on topologically structured soft media.

Suggested Citation

  • Tetiana Orlova & Sarah Jane Aßhoff & Tadatsugu Yamaguchi & Nathalie Katsonis & Etienne Brasselet, 2015. "Creation and manipulation of topological states in chiral nematic microspheres," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 6(1), pages 1-9, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:6:y:2015:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms8603
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms8603
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms8603
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/ncomms8603?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:6:y:2015:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms8603. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.