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SUMMARY:Nematic colloidal micro-motors powered by light - Ivan Smalyukh (U
 niversity of Colorado)
DTSTART:20190517T080000Z
DTEND:20190517T084000Z
UID:TALK124666@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:INI IT
DESCRIPTION:Man-made nano- and micro-motors are key to many future applica
 tions. I will describe highly reconfigurable self-assembly of colloidal mi
 cro-motors that exhibit a repetitive rotation when immersed in a liquid cr
 ystal and powered by a continuous exposure to unstructured ~1nW light. A m
 onolayer of self-assembled azobenzene molecules defines how the liquid cry
 stal&rsquo\;s optical axis mechanically couples to the colloidal particle&
 rsquo\;s surface\, as well as how they jointly rotate as the light&rsquo\;
 s polarization changes. The rotating particle twists the liquid crystal\, 
 which\, in turn changes polarization of the light traversing it. The resul
 ting feedback mechanism spontaneously yields a continuous opto-mechanical 
 cycle and drives the unidirectional particle spinning\, with handedness an
 d frequency robustly controlled by polarization and intensity of light. I 
 will discuss how this may enable new forms of active matter and self-assem
 bled machines.
LOCATION:Seminar Room 1\, Newton Institute
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