Related papers: Interface structures in ionic liquid crystals
Nuclei of ordered materials emerging from the isotropic state usually show a shape topologically equivalent to a sphere; the well-known examples are crystals and nematic liquid crystal droplets. In this work, we explore experimentally and…
Anisotropic fluids appear in a diverse array of systems, from liquid-crystal displays to bacterial swarms, and are characterized by orientational order. Large colloidal particles immersed in such environments disturb the medium's…
A flat sheet programmed with a planar pattern of spontaneous shape change will morph into a curved surface. Such metric mechanics is seen in growing biological sheets, and may be engineered in actuating soft matter sheets such as…
We develop a theory for the description of ionic liquids (ILs) confined in a porous medium formed by a matrix of immobile randomly placed uncharged particles. The IL is modelled as an electroneutral mixture of hardsphere anions and flexible…
The phase behaviour and dynamics of molecular ionic liquids are studied using primitive models and extensive computer simulations. The models account for size disparity between cation and anion, charge location on the cation, and…
Ionic liquids are widely used as electrolytes in electrochemical devices. In this context, many experimental and theoretical approaches have been recently developed for characterizing their interface with electrodes. In this perspective…
The impact of mesoscale organization on dynamics and ion transport in binary ionic liquid mixtures is investigated by broadband dielectric spectroscopy, dynamic-mechanical spectroscopy, x-ray scattering, and molecular dynamics simulations.…
The effect of rough walls on the phase behaviour of a confined liquid crystal (LC) fluid is studied using constant pressure Monte Carlo simulations. The LC is modelled as a fluid of soft ellipsoidal molecules and the rough walls are…
Ionic liquids are promising candidates for novel electrolytes as they possess large electrochemical and thermodynamic stability and offer a high degree of tunability. As purely-ionic electrolyte without neutral solvent they exhibit…
We review and compare recent work on the properties of fluctuating interfaces between nematic and isotropic liquid-crystalline phases. Molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations have been carried out for systems of ellipsoids and hard…
Ions in ionic liquids and concentrated electrolytes reside in a crowded, strongly-interacting environment, leading to the formation of discrete layers of charges at interfaces. Here, we propose a continuum theory that captures the…
The unique structural properties of interfacial water are at the heart of a vast range of important processes in electrochemistry, climate science, and biophysics. At interfaces, water molecules exhibit preferential orientations and an…
Liquid crystals in two dimensions undergo a first-order isotropic-to-quasi-nematic transition, provided the particle interactions are sufficiently ``sharp and narrow''. This implies phase coexistence between isotropic and quasi-nematic…
We report a molecular dynamics simulation demonstrating that the Smectic B crystalline phase (Cr-B), commonly observed in mesogenic systems of anisotropic molecules, can be formed by a system of identical particles interacting via a…
Ion Coulomb crystals (ICC), formed by atomic ions at low temperatures in radiofrequency and Penning ion traps, are structures that have remarkable properties and many applications. Images of Coulomb crystals are striking and reveal the…
Soft pair potentials predict a reentrant liquid phase for high concentrations, a behavior not observed experimentally. Here, very soft microgels confined at an oil-water interface are used as a model system of particles interacting via a…
The air-water interface is a highly prevalent phase boundary with a far-reaching impact on natural and industrial processes. Water molecules behave differently at the interface compared to the bulk, exhibiting anisotropic orientational…
Liquid crystal droplets are of great interest from physics and applications. Rigorous mathematical analysis is challenging as the problem involves harmonic maps (and in general the Oseen-Frank model), free interfaces and topological defects…
We explore the structure of nuclei and topological defects in the first-order phase transition between the nematic (N) and isotropic (I) phases in lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals (LCLCs). The LCLCs are formed by self-assembled molecular…
We study living liquid crystals (LLCs), which are an amalgam of nematic liquid crystals (LCs) and active matter (AM). These LLCs are placed in contact with surfaces which impose planar/homeotropic boundary conditions on the director field…