Diffusion of brownian particles in the isotropic phase of a nematic liquid crystal |
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| Authors: | A. Bottger D. Frenkel E. Van De Riet R. Zijlstra |
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| Affiliation: | Rijksuniversiteit, Fysisch Laboratoruim, Princetonplein 5, 3548CC , Utrecht, The Netherlands |
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| Abstract: | Abstract We report a light scattering study of the translational diffusion of a suspension of silica spheres in the liquid crystal, 4-n-pentyl-4'-cyanobiphenyl. We observe a small but significant increase of the effective hydrodynamic radius of the colloidal particles as the transition to the nematic phase is approached. This effect can be understood in terms of orientational pre-wetting of the silica spheres. |
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