Self-assembly of fractal liquid crystal colloids

Abstract

Nematic liquid crystals are anisotropic fluids that self-assemble into vector fields, which are governed by geometrical and topological laws. Consequently, particulate or droplet inclusions self-assemble in nematic domains through a balance of topological defects. Here, we use double emulsions of water droplets inside radial nematic liquid crystal droplets to form various structures, ranging from linear chains to three-dimensional fractal structures. The system is modeled as a formation of satellite droplets, distributed around a larger, central core droplet and we extend the problem to explain the formation of fractal structures. We show that a distribution of droplet sizes plays a key role in determining the symmetry properties of the resulting geometric structures. The results are relevant to a variety of inclusions, ranging from colloids suspensions to multi-emulsion systems. Such systems have potential applications for novel switchable photonic structures as well as providing wider insights into the packing of self-assembled structures.