Fig. 1.

(A) Cartoon depicting the use of sedimentation to deposit microparticles at interfaces between nematic 5CB and aqueous phases. Polarized (B, D, and F) and bright-field (C, E, and G) optical micrographs of interfacial assemblies of microparticles with areal densities of 4,500 (B and C), 9,900 (D and E), and 14,800 microparticles/mm² (F and G). Polarized (H) and bright-field (I) optical micrographs of the same microparticles sedimented onto a 5CB–aqueous interface heated to 40 °C (above the nematic-to-isotropic transition temperature of 5CB). A false white border has been added to indicate in the edge of the sample (H). The microparticles in (I) appear larger than the microparticles in the other images because of a slight tilting of the sample in (I). (Scale bar: 50 μm.)