Abstract
We study the interactions of submicrometer diameter silica particles, surface functionalized with DMOAP (N,N-dimethyl-n-octadecyl-3-aminopropyl-trimethoxysilyl chloride), in the nematic liquid crystal 5CB (pentylcyanobiphenil). Using the methods of video-tracking dark-field microscopy, we have measured the pair-binding energy of 35- to 450-nm-diameter silica particles, which is in the range between 100 and 1000 ${k}_{B}T$. It is therefore high enough for the formation of thermally stable nanocolloidal pairs of 35 nm diameter. We find that smaller colloids with the diameter around 22 nm do not form thermally stable pairs, which seems to be currently the lower limit for nanocolloidal assembly in the nematic liquid crystals. We also study the particle interactions with point and Saturn-ring defects and discuss the possibility of hierarchical structures generated by particles of different sizes assembled by topological defects.
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