Squaring the circle: investigating the interplay between magnetism and electronic states in materials with square nets. In this project, we focus on topological semimetals; unique materials that are suitable for fast and energy-efficient computer elements. We specifically focus on those in which atoms form square nets, because of their superb properties. However, large magnetic fields are often necessary to access these properties, hindering implementation. Therefore, we investigate materials that contain both these unique electronic properties and magnetic atoms, and study their interaction by synthesizing crystals, studying their magnetic properties and using neutron scattering to determine the nature of this interaction.

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We propose to develop a continuous microfluidic technique for manufacturing microparticles of arbitrary shape with spatially controlled patches. Our method leverages the high manufacturing yields of stop-flow lithography along with the precise spatial control of magnetic patches with virtual moulding method to arrive at a novel soft material with unprecedented self assembly capabilities. Furthermore, we will explore applications of these novel soft materials as anticounterfeiting barcodes and responsive sensors.

A Twist in the Tail: Exploring Chiral Interactions in Liquid Crystals for Biosensing – There is an urgent need to make biosensors fast, affordable, and sensitive, while maintaining molecular specificity. Here, we will use liquid crystals, famous for display technologies, to produce color-changing emulsions as biosensing platforms that address these needs. Using high-resolution microscopy, spectroscopy, and lab-on-a-chip technologies, we will characterize how chiral liquid crystals are impacted by target molecule structures to produce diverse color-changing signals. Beyond the innovation of accessible, specific, and quantitative biosensors, our findings will shed light on chiral organization in crowded environments, relevant to biological systems.

We propose to study colloidal dumbbells, recently developed in our laboratory, of which one side specifically sticks to a side of another dumbbell. For that we make use of depletion interactions that we tune by adjusting surface roughness. We propose to systematically study the aggregation properties of such colloidal surfactants as a function of patch geometry, interaction strength, and dumbbell concentration. We also propose to explore the possibility of ?colloidal emulsions? and modulated structures by mixing the dumbbells with spherical colloids. Finally, we plan to extend the concept to colloids with multiple patches of well-defined geometry.