Shape and director field deformation of tactoids of plate-like colloids in a magnetic field

Abstract

We investigated by means of polarization microscopy the influence of a magnetic field on the shape and director field of nematic droplets in dispersions of plate-like colloidal particles. To interpret the experimental observations, we put forward a simple theory in which we presume strong anchoring and a sphero-cylindrical droplet shape. This model allows us to extract values for the interfacial tension and the splay elastic constant from the experimental data.