Colloidal particles disturb the alignment of rod-like molecules of liquid crystals, giving rise to long-range interactions that minimize the free energy of distorted regions. Particle shape and topology are known to guide this self-assembly process. However, how chirality of colloidal inclusions affects these long-range interactions is unclear. Here we study the effects of distortions caused by chiral springs and helices on the colloidal self-organization in a nematic liquid crystal using laser tweezers, particle tracking and optical imaging. We show that chirality of colloidal particles interacts with the nematic elasticity to predefine chiral or racemic colloidal superstructures in nematic colloids. These findings are consistent with numerical modelling based on the minimization of Landau–de Gennes free energy. Our study uncovers the role of chirality in defining the mesoscopic order of liquid crystal colloids, suggesting that this feature may be a potential tool to modulate the global orientated self-organization of these systems.

胶体颗粒会扰乱液晶棒状分子的排列，从而产生长距离相互作用，从而使变形区域的自由能最小化。已知粒子的形状和拓扑可指导这种自组装过程。但是，胶体包裹体的手性如何影响这些远程相互作用尚不清楚。在这里，我们使用激光镊子，粒子跟踪和光学成像技术研究了由手性弹簧和螺旋引起的扭曲对向列液晶中胶体自组织的影响。我们表明，胶体粒子的手性与向列弹性相互作用，以预定义向列胶体中的手性或外消旋胶体超结构。这些发现与基于Landau-de Gennes自由能最小化的数值模型是一致的。