Characterization of the Sub-micrometer Hierarchy Levels in the Twist-bend Nematic Phase With Nanometric Helices Via Photopolymerization: Explanation for the Sign Reversal in the Polar Response

Authors

Vitaly Panov, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Sithara Sreenilayam, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Yuri Panarin, Technological University DublinFollow
Jagdish Vij, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Chris Welch, University of Hull
Georg Mehl, University of Hull

Document Type

Article

Rights

Available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike 4.0 International Licence

Disciplines

Electrical and electronic engineering

Publication Details

Nano Letters

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Abstract

Photopolymerization of a reactive mesogen mixed with a mesogenic dimer, shown to exhibit the twist-bend nematic phase (NTB), reveals the complex structure of the self-deformation patterns observed in planar cells. The polymerized reactive mesogen retains the structure formed by liquid crystalline molecules in the twist bend phase, thus enabling its observation by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Hierarchical ordering scales ranging from tens of nanometers to micrometers are imaged in detail. Submicron features, anticipated from earlier X-ray experiments, are visualized directly. In the self-deformation stripes formed in the NTB phase, the average director field is found tilted in the cell plane by an angle of up to 45° from the cell rubbing direction. This tilt explains the sign inversion being observed in the electro-optical studies.

DOI

10.1021/acs.nanolett.7b03441

Recommended Citation

Panov, V. et al. (2017). Characterization of the sub-micrometer hierarchy levels in the twist-bend nematic phase with nanometric helices via photopolymerization: explanation for the sign reversal in the polar response. Nano Letters, vol. 17, no. 12, pg. 7515-7519. doi:10.1021/acs.nanolett.7b03441