Electrophoresis is a motion of charged dispersed particles relative to a fluid in a uniform electric field. Here it is described how an anisotropic fluid — a nematic liquid crystal — can lead to motion of both charged and neutral particles, even when they are perfectly symmetrical, in any type of electric field. The phenomenon is caused by a distortion in the orientation of the liquid crystals around the particles. The approach could see applications in, for example, display technologies and colloidal assembly and disassembly.
Nonlinear electrophoresis of dielectric and metal spheres in a nematic liquid crystal