Optical patterning of magnetic domains and defects in ferromagnetic liquid crystal colloids
- Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States)
- Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States); National Renewable Energy Lab., Boulder, CO (United States)
A promising approach in designing composite materials with an unusual physical behavior combines solid nanostructures and orientationally ordered soft matter at the mesoscale. Such composites can not only inherit properties of their constituents but also can exhibit emergent behavior such as ferromagnetic ordering of colloidal metal nanoparticles forming mesoscopic magnetization domains when dispersed in a nematic liquid crystal. Here, we demonstrate the optical patterning of domain structures and topological defects in such ferromagnetic liquid crystal colloids, which allows for altering their response to magnetic fields. Furthermore, our findings reveal the nature of the defects in this soft matter system which is different as compared to non-polar nematics and ferromagnets alike.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE); National Science Foundation (NSF)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308; DMR-1420736
- OSTI ID:
- 1225330
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/JA-5900-65110
- Journal Information:
- Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 107, Issue 7; Related Information: Applied Physics Letters; ISSN 0003-6951
- Publisher:
- American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
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Related Subjects
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
magnetic fields
magnetic domains
colloidal systems
dispersion
crystal defects
crystallographic defects
photo-isomerization
soft matter
electromagnetic coils
ferromagnetic materials
magnetism
composite materials
liquid crystals
nanoparticles
nanoplatelet