Reversible Switching of Liquid Crystalline Order Permits Synthesis of Homogeneous Populations of Dipolar Patchy Microparticles.

ABSTRACT: The spontaneous positioning of colloids on the surfaces of micrometer-sized liquid crystalline droplets and their subsequent polymerization offers the basis of a general and facile method for the synthesis of patchy microparticles. The existence of multiple local energetic minima, however, can generate kinetic traps for colloids on the surfaces of the liquid crystal (LC) droplets and result in heterogeneous populations of patchy microparticles. To address this issue, here we demonstrate that adsorbate-driven switching of the internal configurations of LC droplets can be used to sweep colloids to a single location on the LC droplet surfaces, thus resulting in the synthesis of homogeneous populations of patchy microparticles. The surface-driven switching of the LC can be triggered by additio

SUBMITTER: Wang X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4251523 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature