HEИндивидуална стипендия2023–2025

OPS-CLC · Optical sorting of cholesteric liquid crystal droplets

„Хоризонт Европа“ — Действия „Мария Склодовска-Кюри“

Период: 2023-09-01 → 2025-08-31
Финансиране от ЕС: 209 401 €
Участници: 2
Схема: HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF

Линиите свързват координатора с партньорите.

Накратко на български

Оптичното сортиране на капки от течни кристали изследва как светлината може да раздели микроскопични обекти, които са огледални копия един на друг. Това помага за създаването на по-чисти технологии за управление на материята без физически контакт или химикали.

Този кратък обзор е генериран от изкуствен интелект

Кратко обяснение, генерирано от езиков модел по текста на CORDIS. Оригиналът е по-долу.

Резултати накратко

Optical sorting of cholesteric liquid crystal droplets

The OPS-CLC project (Optical Sorting of Cholesteric Liquid Crystal Droplets) explored how light can distinguish and control microscopic chiral objects—structures that differ from their mirror image, like right and left hands. Chirality is a universal property in nature and technology, shaping the behaviour of molecules, biological systems, and advanced materials. Yet, separating or manipulating right- and left-handed species remains a challenge in chemistry, pharmacology, and materials science, where conventional methods depend on chemical agents or mechanical contact. OPS-CLC proposed a radically different, contact-free optical approach. The project aimed to show that linearly polarised light, containing equal left- and right-handed circular components, could exert opposite torques on cholesteric liquid-crystal droplets of opposite handedness—creating a purely optical form of enantioseparation powered by light’s angular momentum rather than chemical or mechanical means. Hosted at the University of Bordeaux’s Laboratoire Ondes et Matière d’Aquitaine (LOMA), an international centre of excellence in optics and soft-matter physics, the project combined expertise in optical engineering, fluid dynamics, and material science to develop a state-of-the-art optofluidic platform for studying chiral light–matter interactions. Through this work, OPS-CLC addressed both fundamental and strategic needs: understanding how chirality governs light–matter interaction, and laying the groundwork for cleaner, energy-efficient technologies capable of manipulating microscopic systems without contact. By bridging advanced photonics and soft-matter science, the project contributed to Europe’s goals of sustainable innovation and technological leadership in advanced materials. Its impact spans from fundamental physics—deepening knowledge of chiral dynamics—to potential applications in microfluidic sorting, optical sensing, and enantioselective manufacturing, reinforcing Europe’s position at the forefront of next-generation light-driven technologies.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз

Цел на проекта

Interaction between light waves and chiral matter is a fundamental topic in optics and material sciences. When the matter is chiral, light can exert linear and angular momentum, optical torque, which has a differentiated sense depending on the handedness of the material and the helicity of the light. In this project, we propose to exploit the intrinsic chirality of cholesteric liquid crystals droplets on a microfluidic chamber to generate a differentiated rotation on different enantiomers of cholesteric liquid crystal. It has been shown numerically that rotating disks on a fluid produce a sorting effect, isolating the disks with different rotation senses. In this project, we propose to exploit the chirality in cholesteric liquid crystals to generate contactless enantioseparation of droplets with plane wavefront linearly polarised light, ensuring a robust and scalable enantioseparation technique. The project contemplates producing optical enantioseparation of polydisperse cholesteric liquid crystal droplets immersed in a microfluidic chamber. The project focuses on developing multidisciplinary aspects of light and matter interaction, specifically when there is a handedness, both in light and matter and is expected to generate impact and enhance new concepts in multiple fields ranging from applied mathematics to chemistry. The Researcher of the proposed project is Gregorio González, PhD candidate of the University of Chile, Chile, with experience in nonlinear dynamics induced by light interaction on liquid crystal layers. The Supervisor will be Professor Etienne Brasselet in the Singular Optics group, at the Host Institution, the University of Bordeaux, France.

Оригинален текст от CORDIS (на английски).

Участници

UNIVERSITE DE BORDEAUX · BordeauxКоординаторФранция
CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS · ParisФранция