Threading the Spindle: A Geometric Study of Chiral Liquid Crystal Polymer Microparticles

Helen S. Ansell, Dae Seok Kim, Randall D. Kamien, Eleni Katifori, and Teresa Lopez-Leon

Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 157801 – Published 10 October 2019

Abstract

Polymeric particles are strong candidates for designing artificial materials capable of emulating the complex twisting-based functionality observed in biological systems. In this Letter, we provide the first detailed investigation of the swelling behavior of bipolar polymer liquid crystalline microparticles. Deswelling from the spherical bipolar configuration causes the microparticles to contract anisotropically and twist in the process, resulting in a twisted spindle-shaped structure. We propose a model to describe the observed spiral patterns and twisting behavior.

Received 6 May 2019
Revised 25 July 2019

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.123.157801

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Conformation & topology Distortions & defects Polymer conformation & topology

Polymers & Soft Matter

Authors & Affiliations

Helen S. Ansell¹, Dae Seok Kim^1,2, Randall D. Kamien^1,†, Eleni Katifori¹, and Teresa Lopez-Leon^2,*

¹Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
²UMR CNRS 7083, ESPCI Paris, PSL Research University, 75005 Paris, France