ROTATIONAL DIFFUSION OF MONODISPERSE LIQUID-CRYSTAL DROPLETS

We have prepared monodisperse suspensions of nematic liquid crystal dr oplets in water. The droplets are stabilized by polyvinyl alcohol, a p olymer that induces planar anchoring of the liquid crystal molecules a t the surface of the droplets. The resultant particles exhibit strong optical anisotropy while having a spherical shape. As a consequence, t he light scattering from the particles contains a strong depolarized c omponent. We report a simple application of this feature by performing dynamic light scattering experiments to measure the rotational diffus ion of colloidal spheres in a dilute suspension. (C) 1998 Academic Pre ss.