Electrically controlled topological micro cargo transportation

Bhadwal, A.S., Mottram, N.J. , Saxena, A., Sage, I.C. and Brown, C.V. (2020) Electrically controlled topological micro cargo transportation. Soft Matter, 16(12), pp. 2961-2970. (doi: 10.1039/C9SM01956A) (PMID:32119011)

Abstract

We demonstrate electrically controlled linear translation and precision positioning of a colloidal particle in a soft matter device. The basis of transportation is the time dependent electric field reconfiguration and manipulation of a topological line defect between two distinct hybrid aligned nematic liquid crystal domains having opposing tilt orientations. Deliberately tuning an applied voltage relative to a low threshold value (5.7 V at 1 kHz) permits defect trapping of the colloidal particle and allows subsequent control over the particle's velocity and bidirectional linear movement over millimeter distances, without the need for externally imposed flow nor for lateral confining walls.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: ASB and AS gratefully acknowledge Nottingham Trent University (Nottingham UK) and Merck Chemicals Ltd (Chilworth UK) for PhD Scholarship funding.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Mottram, Professor Nigel
• Authors: Bhadwal, A.S., Mottram, N.J., Saxena, A., Sage, I.C., and Brown, C.V.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Mathematics and Statistics > Mathematics
• Journal Name: Soft Matter
• Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry
• ISSN: 1744-683X
• ISSN (Online): 1744-6848
• Published Online: 24 February 2020
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2020 The Royal Society of Chemistry
• First Published: First published in Sot Matter 16(12): 2961-2970
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License