Anisotropic active colloidal particles in liquid crystals: A Multi-particle Collision Dynamics simulation study

Víctor Duarte Alaniz and Humberto Híjar

Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 2023, vol. 609, issue C

Abstract: We investigate numerically the motion of active elongated colloidal particles in a nematic liquid crystal. Active particles imposing three different anchoring conditions on the orientation field of the solvent are considered: homeotropic, planar, and Janus, which combine both homeotropic and planar conditions at different proportions. Active forces are parallel to the main symmetry axis of the colloidal particles. Our numerical approach sustains topological defects, thermal fluctuations and nematohydrodynamic flow. It is shown that the direction of motion of the active particles is determined by anchoring conditions. Transportation of active colloids with planar (homeotropic) anchoring occurs mainly parallel (perpendicular) to the nematic director field, whereas Janus particles exhibit an intermediate propagation direction. Results apply for active motion at low Reynolds and Ericksen numbers, where distortions on defects surrounding active particles are small.

Keywords: Nematic colloids; Janus particles; Topological defects; Mesoscopic simulations (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:phsmap:v:609:y:2023:i:c:s0378437122008561

DOI: 10.1016/j.physa.2022.128298

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