We perform molecular dynamics simulations of the orientational ordering on nematic shells delimited by spherocylindrical nanoscopic colloidal particles. We show that under conditions of degenerate planar anchoring, the equilibrium director field structure in these shells exhibits pairs of $+1/2$ topological defects at the poles of spherical cups in the absence of an external electric field. In addition, a certain number of pairs of $\pm 1/2$ defects occurs on the spherical cups far from the poles, thus resulting in a total of eight valence spots. A strong field applied along the main spherocylindrical axis removes the $\pm 1/2$ defect pairs while it coalesces the polar ones into a single $+1$ topological defect. A strong transverse field destroys all defects on the spherical cups but generates four $+1/2$ defects in the cylindrical part. Therefore, an external field can be used to control the number of valence centers in spherocylindrical nematic shells, thus unveiling their capability of acting as multivalent building blocks for nanophotonic devices.

• Received 5 October 2015

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.93.012703