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Transitions Between Radial and Bipolar Liquid Crystal Drops in the Presence of Novel Surfactants

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Abstract
Liquid crystals (LCs) are a class of molecules that form a variety of configurations easily influenced by external interactions. Of particular interest are rod-like LC molecules confined to a spherical geometry, which have a competition between interfacial tension and elastic deformations. The configuration of the liquid crystal inside a droplet can be controlled using surfactants, influencing the boundary conditions, in an oil-in-water emulsion. I tested the effects of novel surfactants on the configuration of the LC droplets. These novel surfactant molecules, synthesized by collaborators, are oligomers with either a variable length hydrophobic domain or protein sensitive hydrophilic domain. I tested the equilibrium configuration and dynamics of configurational changes, comparing experimental results to simulations performed by collaborators. We find that configuration transitions can be triggered by the addition of a control surfactant, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), but not the novel surfactants. The SDS concentration at which the phase transition occurs appears to depend on the droplet diameter and I observed a hysteresis in the SDS concentration of the phase transition, both of which depend on the novel surfactant present.
Type
dissertation
Date
2020
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