title: Liquid crystal nanodroplets in solution.
abstract: The aggregation of liquid crystal nanodroplets from a homogeneous solution is studied by molecular dynamics simulations. The liquid crystal particles are modeled as elongated ellipsoidal Gay-Berne particles while the solvent is modeled as spherical Lennard-Jones particles. Extending previous studies of Berardi et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 126, 044905 (2007)], we find that liquid crystal nanodroplets are not stable and that after sufficiently long times the nanodroplets always aggregate into a single large droplet. Results describing the droplet shape and orientation for different temperatures and shear rates are presented. The implementation of the Gay-Berne potential for biaxial ellipsoidal particles in a parallel molecular dynamics code is also briefly discussed.
authors.affiliation: Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185, USA. wmbrown@sandia.gov
authors.forename: W Michael
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Matt K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Petersen
authors.forename: Steven J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Plimpton
authors.forename: Gary S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Grest