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Liquid crystalline polymers are attractive materials for untethered miniature soft robots. When they contain azo dyes, they acquire light-responsive actuation properties. However, the manipulation of such photoresponsive polymers at the micrometer scale remains largely unexplored. Here, uni- and bidirectional rotation and speed control of polymerized azo-containing chiral liquid crystalline photonic microparticles powered by light is reported. The rotation of these polymer particles is first studied in an optical trap experimentally and theoretically. The micro-sized polymer particles respond to the handedness of a circularly polarized trapping laser due to their chirality and exhibit uni- and bidirectional rotation depending on their alignment within the optical tweezers. The attained optical torque causes the particles to spin with a rotation rate of several hertz. The angular speed can be controlled by small structural changes, induced by ultraviolet (UV) light absorption. After switching off the UV illumination, the particle recovers its rotation speed. The results provide evidence of uni- and bidirectional motion and speed control in light-responsive polymer particles and offer a new way to devise light-controlled rotary microengines at the micrometer scale.

100 years ago, in 1923, the Nobel prize in physics was awarded for measurement of the unit charge. In addition to a profound impact on contemporary physics, this discovery has reshaped our understanding of charge-based interactions in chemistry and biology, ranging from oxidation and ionization to protein folding and metabolism. In a liquid, the discrete nature of the electric charge becomes prominent at the nanoscale when a charge carrier is exchanged between a molecule or a nanoparticle and the surrounding medium. However, our ability to observe the dynamics of such interactions at the level of a single elementary charge is limited due to the abundance of ions in water. Here, we report on the observation of single binding-unbinding events with elementary charge resolution at the surface of a nanoparticle suspended in water. Discrete steps in the electrical charge are revealed by analyzing the motion of optically trapped nanoparticles under the influence of an applied sinusoidal electric field. The measurements are sufficiently fast and long to observe individual (dis)charging events that occur on average every 3 s. Our results offer prospective routes for studying the dynamics of diverse chemical and biological phenomena on the nanoscale with elementary charge resolution. © 2023 American Chemical Society.

Liquid crystalline polymers are attractive materials for untethered miniature soft robots. When they contain azo dyes, they acquire light-responsive actuation properties. However, the manipulation of such photoresponsive polymers at the micrometer scale remains largely unexplored. Here, uni- and bidirectional rotation and speed control of polymerized azo-containing chiral liquid crystalline photonic microparticles powered by light is reported. The rotation of these polymer particles is first studied in an optical trap experimentally and theoretically. The micro-sized polymer particles respond to the handedness of a circularly polarized trapping laser due to their chirality and exhibit uni- and bidirectional rotation depending on their alignment within the optical tweezers. The attained optical torque causes the particles to spin with a rotation rate of several hertz. The angular speed can be controlled by small structural changes, induced by ultraviolet (UV) light absorption. After switching off the UV illumination, the particle recovers its rotation speed. The results provide evidence of uni- and bidirectional motion and speed control in light-responsive polymer particles and offer a new way to devise light-controlled rotary microengines at the micrometer scale. © 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.

The authors would like to clarify that Manoj Prasad is the corresponding author of the manuscript with email address: Manoj.Prasad@Ugent.be. The Royal Society of Chemistry apologises for these errors and any consequent inconvenience to authors and readers.

The authors regret that the incorrect corresponding email address was given for Manoj Prasad in the original article. The correct email address is shown as below. The Royal Society of Chemistry apologises for these errors and any consequent inconvenience to authors and readers.

The adsorption of charged inverse micelles at the electrode-liquid interface has an important effect on field screening and on the voltage drop over diffuse double layers. Recently, we analyzed the behavior of inverse micelles in a nonpolar liquid close to this electrode-liquid interface. For the fluorocarbon/surfactant system under study, we are in the limit of slow adsorption and negligible desorption of inverse micelles on the electrodes. Upon applying a voltage step, this results in a measurable Stern layer buildup in the time range of hours clearly distinguishable from the diffuse double layer buildup, which happens in less than 1 s. This Stern layer buildup manifests itself by a shift in the voltage drop from the diffuse double layer to the Stern layer until the voltage drop over the Stern layers reaches the applied voltage, leaving a zero bulk field without the diffuse double layer. New measurements of the transients of Stern layer buildup show that the buildup of charges in the Stern layer is more complex. We explain the observed transient behavior by introducing an asymmetry in the adsorption rate of charged inverse micelles. We provide an equivalent electrical network, an analytical solution to explain the behavior in more detail, and simulations within the diffuse double layer limit for a range of adsorption rates. © 2020 American Chemical Society.

We present a study of the fundamental electrodynamics of an electronic ink pixel based on frustrated total internal reflection, which is relevant for the ongoing development of video-speed-capable electronic ink displays. Devices are fabricated with plane-parallel electrodes covered with a dielectric coating of the poly(p-xylylene) polymer Parylene C and filled with ink proprietary fluorochemical fluid containing absorbing particles. Reflectivity measurements of frustrated total internal reflection and transient current measurements provide information on the concentration of particles near the electrodes, conductivity of the ink, and screening of the electric field. By comparing the measurements with an electro-optical model, it is found that the electrical properties of the ink are dominated by positively charged particles and negative countercharges. Screening of the electric field depends as expected on the dielectric coating thickness. The observation of an asymmetry in the steady-state gray level response to an applied voltage is explained by fixed positive charges adsorbed at the interface between the dielectric coating and the dispersion. The overall switching dynamics of the device for different voltage sequences is in good agreement with simulations. © 2018 American Physical Society.

A refractive Bessel lattice with micrometric periodicity is induced optically in a photosensitive azobenzene liquid crystal cell of 3 µm thickness by a green 532 nm, 30 mW Bessel beam and with simultaneous illumination by a red 632.8 nm, 15 mW Gaussian beam. The uninterrupted action of both beams plays a key role in the complete mechanism of the refractive lattice formation. The lattice formation is investigated in real-time by the measurement of forward diffracted ring powers from both the red Gaussian and the green Bessel beams. The diffraction efficiency is investigated depending on the green Bessel beam intensity and on the mutual relation between the green beam polarization and the rubbing direction of the cell. A maximum diffraction efficiency of 1.1% is obtained which corresponds to a refractive index change of 6 × 10−3. Simulations are performed and a physical model to explain the experimental results is discussed. © 2018, © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

The electrokinetics and charging of nonpolar colloidal dispersions subjected to a voltage are investigated by electric current and optical measurements. From electric current measurements in response to an alternating triangular voltage with a peak value of a few hundred volts, we find that polystyrene toner particles are compacted near the electrodes and their charge increases by more than a factor of 20. The important increase of charge is interpreted by a mechanism in which counter charges, which are originally at the particle surface, are desorbed. Optical measurements performed under a dc voltage of the order of a few hundred volts demonstrate that the charge of the particles can again decrease or even be inverted. These phenomena are attributed to the movement of counter charged species from the interface layers onto the surface of the particles. The findings of this study are relevant for electrophoretic displays and liquid toner printing. © 2017 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

We demonstrate the use of low spatial and temporal coherence holography microscopy, based on the Lorenz-Mie model, using the standard tungsten-halogen lamp present in an inverted microscope. An optical model is put forward to incorporate the effect of spectral width and different incidence angles of the incident light determined by the aperture at the back focal plane of the condenser lens. The model is validated for 899 nm diameter polystyrene microspheres in glycerol, giving a resolution of 0.4% for the index of refraction and 2.2% for the diameter of the particles. © 2017 Optical Society of America.

Charged inverse micelles (CIMs) generated during a continuous polarizing voltage between electrodes in the model system of polyisobutylene succinimide in dodecane do not populate a diffuse double layer like CIMs present in equilibrium (regular CIMs), but instead end up in interface layers. When the applied voltage is reversed abruptly after a continuous polarizing voltage step, two peaks are observed in the transient current. The first peak is due to the release of regular CIMs from the diffuse double layers formed during the polarizing voltage step, which is understood on the basis of the Poisson-Nernst-Planck equations. The second peak is due to the release of a small fraction of generated negative CIMs from the interface layer. A model based on space charge limited release of the generated negative CIMs from the interface layer is presented and the results of the model are compared with several types of measurements. For the situation in which the bulk is deprived of regular CIMs and neutral inverse micelles, the results of the model are in agreement with the experimental results. However, for the situation in which regular CIMs and neutral inverse micelles are present, the model shows discrepancies with the experiment for high voltages and high charge contents. These discrepancies are attributed to electrohydrodynamic flow caused by local variations in the electric field at the vicinity of the electrodes, which occur during the reversal voltage. Also the long term decrease of the amount of released generated CIMs is studied and it is found that the presence of regular CIMs and neutral inverse micelles speeds up the decrease. This study provides a deeper insight in the electrodynamics of CIMs and is relevant for various applications in non-polar liquids. This journal is © 2016 The Owner Societies.

We present low coherence digital holography microscopy with optical tweezers. The holograms were fitted with Lorenz-Mie theory, resulting in a resolution of 1 nm for the diameter and 0.0005 for the refractive index of microspheres. © OSA 2016.

Over the last few years, the electrodynamics of charged inverse micelles (CIMs) in nonpolar liquids and the generation mechanism and properties of newly generated CIMs have been studied extensively for the model system of polyisobutylene succinimide in dodecane. However, the newly generated CIMs, which accumulate at the electrodes when a continuous voltage is applied, behave differently compared to the regular CIMs present in equilibrium in the absence of a field. In this work, we use transient current measurements to investigate the behavior of the newly generated CIMs when the field is reduced to zero or reversed. We demonstrate that the newly generated CIMs do not participate in the diffuse double layer near the electrode formed by the regular CIMs but form an interface layer at the electrode surface. A fraction of the newly generated negative CIMs can be released from this interface layer when the field there becomes zero. The findings of this study provide a better understanding of fundamental processes in nonpolar liquids and are relevant for applications such as electronic ink displays and liquid toner printing. © 2016 American Chemical Society.

This project comprises investigation of cell sorting, of both artificial beads and biological cells, and analysis of the proprietary cell-BOCS - Bio Optofluidic Cell Sorter, a table top cell sorter using optical manipulation. The analysis is more specific on broadening the ways of detection of cells and upgrading the optical manipulation system. Detection is done by bright-field imaging but there is a specific need to expand the detection criteria to other fields, for example fluorescence. Positively identified particles are sorted out by means of “optical catapulting” with a spatially modulated laser beam. The anticipated project output is a cheap, compact and easy-to-operate cell sorter that is able to detect and manipulate fluorescent microspheres, fluorescent labelled yeast cells and potentially erythrocytes in a microfluidic stream.