Self-assembled nematic colloidal motors powered by light

Yuan, Ye; Abuhaimed, Ghaneema N.; Liu, Qingkun; Smalyukh, Ivan I.

doi:10.1038/s41467-018-07518-x

Self-assembled nematic colloidal motors powered by light

Journal Article · Tue Nov 27 23:00:00 EST 2018 · Nature Communications

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-07518-x· OSTI ID:1624129

^[1]; Abuhaimed, Ghaneema N. ^[2]; Liu, Qingkun ^[2]; ^[3]

Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Dept. of Physics; DOE/OSTI
Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Dept. of Physics
Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Dept. of Physics; Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Soft Materials Research Center and Materials Science and Engineering Program, Department of Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering; Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute, National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Biological motors are marvels of nature that inspire creation of their synthetic counterparts with comparable nanoscale dimensions, high efficiency and diverse functions. Molecular motors have been synthesized, but obtaining nanomotors through self-assembly remains challenging. Here we describe a self-assembled colloidal motor with a repetitive light-driven rotation of transparent micro-particles immersed in a liquid crystal and powered by a continuous exposure to unstructured ~1 nW light. A monolayer of azobenzene molecules defines how the liquid crystal’s optical axis mechanically couples to the particle’s surface, as well as how they jointly rotate as the light’s polarization changes. The rotating particle twists the liquid crystal, which changes polarization of traversing light. The resulting feedback mechanism yields a continuous opto-mechanical cycle and drives the unidirectional particle spinning, with handedness and frequency robustly controlled by polarization and intensity of light. Our findings may lead to opto-mechanical devices and colloidal machines compatible with liquid crystal display technology.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: AC36-08GO28308

OSTI ID:: 1624129

Journal Information:: Nature Communications, Journal Name: Nature Communications Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 9; ISSN 2041-1723

Publisher:: Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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