Imbibition in mesoporous silica: rheological concepts and experiments on water and a liquid crystal

We present, along with some fundamental concepts regarding imbibition of liquids in porous hosts, an experimental, gravimetric study on the capillarity-driven invasion dynamics of water and of the rod-like liquid crystal octyloxycyanobiphenyl (8OCB) in networks of pores a few nanometers across in monolithic silica glass (Vycor). We observe, in agreement with theoretical predictions, square root of time invasion dynamics and a sticky velocity boundary condition for both liquids investigated. Temperature-dependent spontaneous imbibition experiments on 8OCB reveal the existence of a paranematic phase due to the molecular alignment induced by the pore walls even at temperatures well beyond the clearing point. The ever present velocity gradient in the pores is likely to further enhance this ordering phenomenon and prevent any layering in molecular stacks, eventually resulting in a suppression of the smectic phase in favor of the nematic phase.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figure

Multi-Particle Collision Dynamics -- a Particle-Based Mesoscale Simulation Approach to the Hydrodynamics of Complex Fluids

In this review, we describe and analyze a mesoscale simulation method for fluid flow, which was introduced by Malevanets and Kapral in 1999, and is now called multi-particle collision dynamics (MPC) or stochastic rotation dynamics (SRD). The method consists of alternating streaming and collision steps in an ensemble of point particles. The multi-particle collisions are performed by grouping particles in collision cells, and mass, momentum, and energy are locally conserved. This simulation technique captures both full hydrodynamic interactions and thermal fluctuations. The first part of the review begins with a description of several widely used MPC algorithms and then discusses important features of the original SRD algorithm and frequently used variations. Two complementary approaches for deriving the hydrodynamic equations and evaluating the transport coefficients are reviewed. It is then shown how MPC algorithms can be generalized to model non-ideal fluids, and binary mixtures with a consolute point. The importance of angular-momentum conservation for systems like phase-separated liquids with different viscosities is discussed. The second part of the review describes a number of recent applications of MPC algorithms to study colloid and polymer dynamics, the behavior of vesicles and cells in hydrodynamic flows, and the dynamics of viscoelastic fluids

Dielectric Hysteresis, Relaxation Dynamics, and Non-volatile Memory Effect in Carbon Nanotube Dispersed Liquid Crystal

The self-organizing properties of nematic liquid crystals (LC) can be used to template carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on a macroscopic dimension. The nematic director field, coupled to the dispersed CNT long-axis, enables controlled director reorientation using well-established methods of LC alignment techniques, such as patterned-electrode-surface, electric fields, and magnetic fields. Electric field induced director rotation of a nematic LC+CNT system is of potential interests due to its possible applications as a nano electromechanical system. The relaxation mechanism for a LC+CNT composite, on the removal of the applied field, reveals the intrinsic dynamics of this anisotropic system. Dielectric hysteresis and temperature dependence of the dielectric constant coherently shows the ferroelectric-type behavior of the LC+CNT system in the nematic phase. The strong surface anchoring of LC molecules on CNT walls results in forming local isolated pseudo-nematic domains in the isotropic phase. These domains, being anisotropic, respond to external fields, but, do not relax back to the original state on switching of the field off, showing non-volatile memory effect.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure

Novel mid-infrared dispersive wave generation in gas-filled PCF by transient ionization-driven changes in dispersion

Gas-filled hollow-core photonic crystal fibre (PCF) is being used to generate ever wider supercontinuum spectra, in particular via dispersive wave (DW) emission in the deep and vacuum ultraviolet, with a multitude of applications. DWs are the result of the resonant transfer of energy from a self-compressed soliton, a process which relies crucially on phase matching. It was recently predicted that, in the strong-field regime, the additional transient anomalous dispersion introduced by gas ionization would allow phase-matched DW generation in the mid-infrared (MIR)-something that is forbidden in the absence of free electrons. Here we report for the first time the experimental observation of such MIR DWs, embedded in a 4.7-octave-wide supercontinuum that uniquely reaches simultaneously to the vacuum ultraviolet, with up to 1.7 W of total average power