Biaxial structures of localized deformations and line-like distortions in effectively 2D nematic films

Mesarec, Luka (author), Kralj, Samo (author), Iglič, Aleš (author)

We numerically studied localized elastic distortions in curved, effectively two-dimensional nematic shells. We used a mesoscopic Landau-de Gennes-type approach, in which the orientational order is theoretically considered by introducing the appropriate tensor nematic order parameter, while the three-dimensional shell shape is described by the curvature tensor. We limited our theoretical consideration to axially symmetric shapes of nematic shells. It was shown that in the surface regions of stomatocyte-class nematic shell shapes with large enough magnitudes of extrinsic (deviatoric) curvature, the direction of the in-plane orientational ordering can be mutually perpendicular above and below the narrow neck region. We demonstrate that such line-like nematic distortion configurations may run along the parallels (i.e., along the circular lines of constant latitude) located in the narrow neck regions of stomatocyte-like nematic shells. It was shown that nematic distortions are enabled by the order reconstruction mechanism. We propose that the regions of nematic shells that are strongly elastically deformed, i.e., topological defects and line-like distortions, may attract appropriately surface-decorated nanoparticles (NPs), which could potentially be useful for the controlled assembly of NPs.

• Language: English
• Keywords: nematic shells, orientational order, topological defects, stomatocytes, order reconstruction mechanism
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FE - Faculty of Electrical Engineering
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2024
• Number of pages: 14 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 14, issue 3, art. 246
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-173585
• UDC: 544.252.22
• ISSN on article: 2079-4991
• DOI: 10.3390/nano14030246
• COBISS.SI-ID: 183558659
• Publication date in RUL: 18.09.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Nanomaterials
• Shortened title: Nanomaterials
• Publisher: MDPI AG
• ISSN: 2079-4991
• COBISS.SI-ID: 523286297

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: nematične lupine, orientacijski red, topološki defekti, stomatociti, mehanizem rekonstrukcije orientacijskega reda