Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Continuous director-field transformation of nematic tactoids

  • Published:
The European Physical Journal E Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract.

We theoretically investigate the director field inside spindle-shaped nematic droplets, known as tactoids. Tactoids typically form in dispersions of rod-like colloidal particles. By optimising the bulk elastic and surface energies, we find that the director field crosses over smoothly from a homogeneous to a bipolar configuration with increasing droplet size, in a process that we postulate to involve two virtual point defects that move in from infinity towards the poles on the surface of the droplet. Our calculations show that these hypothesised virtual defects become true surface point defects or boojums only in the limit of infinite droplet volume, and that the more elongated the droplets are, the larger their volume has to be before a uniform director field distorts so as to become discernibly bipolar. The theory agrees well with available experimental data on the size dependence of the aspect ratio of tactoids.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. A.S. Sonin, Colloid J. 60, 129 (1998)

    Google Scholar 

  2. A.V. Kaznacheev, B.B. Bogdanov, S.A. Taraskin, J.E.T.P. 95, 57 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. R.D. Williams, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory Rep., RAL-85-028 (1985)

  4. E.G. Virga, Variational Theories for Liquid Crystals (Chapman and Hall, London, 1994)

  5. S. Chandrasekhar, Mol. Cryst. 2, 71 (1966)

    Google Scholar 

  6. D. Kashchiev, Nucleation (Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, 2000)

  7. M.P.B. van Bruggen, J.K.G. Dhont, H.N.W. Lekkerkerker, Macromolecules 32, 2256 (1999)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. P.S. Drzaic, Liquid Crystal Dispersions (World Scientific, Singapore, 1995)

  9. G.E. Volovik, O.D. Lavrentovich, Sov. Phys. JETP 58, 1159 (1983)

    Google Scholar 

  10. R.D. Williams, J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 19, 3211 (1986)

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  11. W. Huang, G.F. Tuthill, Phys. Rev. E 49, 570 (1994)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. A.G. Kalugin, A.N. Golubyatnikov, Proc. Steklov Inst. Math. 223, 168 (1998)

    MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  13. A. Rüdiger, H. Stark, Liq. Cryst. 26, 753 (1999)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. P. Prinsen, P. van der Schoot, Phys. Rev. E 68, 021701 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. H. Zocher, K. Jacobsohn, Kolloidchem. Beih. 28, 167 (1929)

    Google Scholar 

  16. P. van der Schoot, J. Phys. Chem. B 103, 8804 (1999)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. J. Rudnick, R. Bruinsma, Phys. Rev. Lett. 74, 2491 (1995)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. D. Pettey, T.C. Lubensky, Phys. Rev. E 59, 1834 (1999)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. P. Galantola, J.B. Fournier, Phys. Rev. Lett. 75, 3297 (1995)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. The term “boojum” is taken from the poem The Hunting of the Snark, writted in 1876 by Lewis Caroll. As far as we are aware, it was first used in a physics context by N.D. Mermin. See, N.D. Mermin, In Quantum Fluids and Solids, edited by E.D. Adams, J.F. Dufty (Plenum, 1977)

  21. A.N. Semenov, Europhys. Lett. 46, 631 (1999)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. J.B. Fournier, Phys. Rev. Lett. 75, 854 (1995)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. P.G. de Gennes, J. Prost, The Physics of Liquid Crystals (Clarendon, Oxford, 1993)

  24. H. Zocher, C. Török, Kolloid Z. 170, 140 (1960)

    Google Scholar 

  25. P.K. Chan, A.D. Rey, Liq. Cryst. 23, 677 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. S.-D. Lee, R.B. Meyer, J. Chem. Phys. 84, 3443 (1986)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. T. Sato, A. Teramoto, Macromolecules 29, 4107 (1996)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. R.J. Ondris-Crawford, G.P. Crawford, S. Zumer, J.W. Doane, Phys. Rev. Lett. 70, 194 (1993)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Polymer Physics Group, Department of Applied Physics and Dutch Polymer Institute, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600, MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands

    P. Prinsen & P. van der Schoot

Authors
  1. P. Prinsen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. P. van der Schoot
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to P. van der Schoot.

Additional information

Received: 31 October 2003, Published online: 2 March 2004

PACS:

61.30.St Lyotropic phases - 64.70.Md Transitions in liquid crystals - 81.16.Dn Self-assembly - 82.70.Dd Colloids

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Prinsen, P., van der Schoot, P. Continuous director-field transformation of nematic tactoids. Eur. Phys. J. E 13, 35–41 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/e2004-00038-y

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/e2004-00038-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation