Flow-Induced Structures in Lyotropic Chromonic Liquid Crystals
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jia-delacelj-sm-meche-2026-thesis.pdf
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12.52 MB
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Author(s)
Jia, Delace
Advisor(s)
Bischofberger, Irmgard
Date Issued
February 2026
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
Liquid crystals are anisotropic materials possessing directional order but translational freedom. The tunability of their directors and their interactions with light are exploited in common displays, and in more specialized optical applications including spatial light modulators and programmable wave guides for flexible optical design. While static methods using electric and magnetic fields to control liquid crystal orientation have been investigated extensively, few studies have explored a liquid crystal’s response to shear. Lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals (LCLCs) are materials of interest for their biocompatibility and unique structural properties compared to traditional thermotropic liquid crystals. We show that nematic LCLC solutions arrange into intriguing large-scale structures at high flow rates when pushed out of equilibrium by a pressure-driven flow in a microfluidic cell. We align a LCLC solution perpendicular to the flow direction. At low flow rates, the liquid crystal solution remains in this alignment adopting a stable log-rolling state. At a range of higher flow rates, transient horizontal stripes appear along the flow direction; these stripes subsequently break up into subunits that self-assemble into steady-state vertical band structures. We discuss the liquid crystal director field that underlies both structures. For both the horizontal stripes and vertical band textures, we show that the geometric confinement of the cell sets the characteristic length scale of the flow-induced structures. We discuss extensions of this study, particularly particle interactions with the flow-induced structures, and application to bio-microfluidics.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
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