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Complex pattern formation of an anisotropic liquid under confinement
The simplicity of a liquid droplet, say a dew drop on spider silk, is both aesthetically pleasing and scientifically intriguing. When the droplet that confines the liquid becomes comparable
to the molecular size, the interplay of surface energies, thermal motion, and confinement can reveal some interesting physics. Here we will focus on a liquid with an underlying anisotropy a diblock copolymer melt. When the lengthscale of confinement becomes comparable to the order in the liquid the resulting frustration creates complex morphologies. Motivated by some
earlier work on diblock droplets, we will present recent results on a polymer fluid confined to a torus. The complexity that arises from the interplay between molecular anisotropy, confinement, and the breakup of a liquid torus reveals not only remarkable morphologies, but also interesting physics regarding the interaction between defects on small length-scales.
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