Fig. 5: Schematic representation of the isotropic-nematic phase transition and video frames of the 6 μm capillary during its cooling, with the temperature decreasing from top to bottom.
From: Tracking the time evolution of soft matter systems via topological structural heterogeneity
a Isotropic state of the liquid crystal nanocomposite; the bars represent the colour coded local orientation of the liquid crystal molecules and the yellow circles the gold nanospheres. b–d Formation and growth of nematic domains in the nanoparticle-poor and nanoparticle-rich regions (green areas), with a time delay. e Homogeneous nematic state of the liquid crystal nanocomposite.
