Journal title
Journal of Colloid and Interface Science
Last updated
2024-04-10T20:00:14.39+01:00
Abstract
We study colloidal particles in a nematic-liquid-crystal-filled microfluidic
channel and show how elastic interactions between the particle and the channel
wall lead to different particle dynamics compared with conventional
microfluidics. For a static particle, in the absence of a flow field, the
director orientation on the particle surface undergoes a rapid transition from
uniform to homeotropic anchoring as a function of the anchoring strength and
the particle size. In the presence of a flow field, in addition to fluid
viscous stresses on the particle, nematic-induced elastic stresses are exerted
as a result of the anchoring conditions. The resulting forces are shown to
offer the possibility of size-based separation of individual particles. For
multi-particle systems, the nematic forces induce inter-particle attraction
induces particle attraction, following which the particles aggregate and
reorientate. These results illustrate how coupled nematic-hydrodynamic effects
can affect the mobility and spatial reorganization of colloidal particles in
microfluidic applications.
channel and show how elastic interactions between the particle and the channel
wall lead to different particle dynamics compared with conventional
microfluidics. For a static particle, in the absence of a flow field, the
director orientation on the particle surface undergoes a rapid transition from
uniform to homeotropic anchoring as a function of the anchoring strength and
the particle size. In the presence of a flow field, in addition to fluid
viscous stresses on the particle, nematic-induced elastic stresses are exerted
as a result of the anchoring conditions. The resulting forces are shown to
offer the possibility of size-based separation of individual particles. For
multi-particle systems, the nematic forces induce inter-particle attraction
induces particle attraction, following which the particles aggregate and
reorientate. These results illustrate how coupled nematic-hydrodynamic effects
can affect the mobility and spatial reorganization of colloidal particles in
microfluidic applications.
Symplectic ID
710739
Download URL
http://arxiv.org/abs/1707.09015v1
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Publication type
Journal Article
Publication date
26 May 2018