Herein, we report on the phase behaviour of a binary liquid mixture composed of methanol (MeOH) and the thermotropic liquid crystal 4-cyano-4'-pentylbiphenyl (5CB). The corresponding phase diagram combines features of a conventional liquid-liquid mixture with characteristics that are particular to the nematic liquid crystal. We observe four arrangements as a function of composition and temperature, namely monophasic isotropic, monophasic nematic, biphasic isotropic-isotropic and biphasic isotropic-nematic, with an upper critical solution temperature of 24.4 ± 0.5 °C. The interplay of nematogenic and non-nematogenic species offers tunability of phase mixing and phase composition in an accessible temperature window and provides novel routes for the extraction of target compounds, here exemplarily shown for Crystal Violet, Doxorubicin, Eosin Y, Rhodamine 6G and Sudan IV.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/c8sm00327k | DOI Listing |
Soft Matter
January 2025
Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, University of Ljubljana, Jadranska 19, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
We demonstrate the generation of diverse material flow regimes in nematic liquid cells as driven by time-variable active surface anchoring, including no-net flow, oscillatory flow, steady flow, and pulsating flow. Specifically, we numerically simulate a passive nematic fluid inside a cell bounded with two flat solid boundaries at which the time-dependent anchoring is applied with the dynamically variable surface anchoring easy axis. We show that different flow regimes emerge as the result of different anchoring driving directions ( co-rotating or counter-rotating) and relative phase of anchoring driving.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFACS Appl Mater Interfaces
January 2025
Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Tampere University, P.O. Box 541, FI-33101 Tampere, Finland.
The quest for small-scale, remotely controlled soft robots has led to the exploration of magnetic and optical fields for inducing shape morphing in soft materials. Magnetic stimulus excels when navigation in confined or optically opaque environments is required. Optical stimulus, in turn, boasts superior spatial precision and individual control over multiple objects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHealth Phys
January 2025
Division of Vision Research for Environmental Health, Medical Research Institute and Department of Ophthalmology, Kanazawa Medical University, Kahoku, Japan.
Electromagnetic radiation energy at millimeter wave frequencies, typically 30 GHz to 300 GHz, is ubiquitously used in society in devices for telecommunications; radar and imaging systems for vehicle collision avoidance, security screening, and medical equipment; scientific research tools for spectroscopy; industrial applications for non-destructive testing and precise measurement; and military and defense applications. Understanding the biological effects of this technology is essential. We have been investigating ocular responses and damage thresholds comparing various frequencies using rabbit eyes and dedicated experimental apparatus.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFACS Nano
January 2025
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States.
Ordered nanoporous polymer membranes offer opportunities for systematically probing the mechanisms of ion transport under confinement and for realizing useful materials for electrochemical devices. Here, we examine the impact of morphology and ion hydration on the transport of hydroxide and bromide anions in nanostructured polymer membranes with 1 nm scale pores. We use aqueous lyotropic self-assembly of an amphiphilic monomer, with a polymerizable surfactant to create direct hexagonal (H) and gyroid mesophases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLangmuir
January 2025
Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati 781039, Assam, India.
Self-organized contact line instabilities (CLI) of a macroscopic liquid crystal (LC) droplet can be an ingenious pathway to generate a large collection of miniaturized LC drops. For example, when a larger drop of volatile solvent (e.g.
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