Collective transport and reconfigurable assembly of nematic colloids by light-driven cooperative molecular reorientations.

ABSTRACT: Nanomotors in nature have inspired scientists to design synthetic molecular motors to drive the motion of microscale objects by cooperative action. Light-driven molecular motors have been synthesized, but using their cooperative reorganization to control the collective transport of colloids and to realize the reconfiguration of colloidal assembly remains a challenge. In this work, topological vortices are imprinted in the monolayers of azobenzene molecules which further interface with nematic liquid crystals (LCs). The light-driven cooperative reorientations of the azobenzene molecules induce the collective motion of LC molecules and thus the spatiotemporal evolutions of the nematic disclination networks which are defined by the controlled patterns of vortices. Continuum simulations provid

SUBMITTER: Jiang J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10119998 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature