Journal
SOFT MATTER
Volume 9, Issue 29, Pages 6911-6920Publisher
ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY
DOI: 10.1039/c3sm00126a
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Funding
- EU
- ARRS program [P1-0099]
- MRSEC [DMR11-20901]
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A seminal paper [D.R. Nelson, Nano Lett., 2002, 2, 1125.] has proposed that a nematic coating could be used to create a valency for spherical colloidal particles through the functionalization of nematic topological defects. Experimental realizations however question the complex behaviour of solid particles and defects embedded in such a nematic spherical shell. In order to address the related topological and geometrical issues, we have studied micrometer-sized silica beads trapped in nematic shells. We underline the mechanisms that strongly modify the texture of the simple (particle-free) shells when colloidal particles are embedded. Finally, we show how the coupling between capillarity and nematic elasticity offers new ways to control the valence and directionality of shells.
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