1. Photonic bandgap in achiral liquid crystals - a twist on a twistDamian Pociecha, Nataša Vaupotič, Magdalena Majewska, Ewan Cruickshank, Rebecca Walker, John M. D. Storey, Corrie T. Imrie, Cheng Wang, Ewa Górecka, 2021, original scientific article Abstract: Achiral mesogenic molecules are shown to be able to spontaneously assemble into liquid crystalline smectic phases having either simple or double-helical structures. At the transition between these phases, the double-helical structure unwinds. As a consequence, in some temperature range, the pitch of the helix becomes comparable to the wavelength of visible light and the selective reflection of light in the visible range is observed. The photonic bandgap phenomenon is reported for achiral liquid crystals.
Keywords: chirality, helical structures, liquid crystals, photonic bandgap, twist–bend phases
Published in DKUM: 10.10.2024; Views: 0; Downloads: 5
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2. Experimental advances in nanoparticle-driven stabilization of liquid-crystalline blue phases and twist-grain boundary phasesGeorge Cordoyiannis, Marta Lavrič, Vasileios Tzitzios, Maja Trček, Ioannis Lelidis, George Nounesis, Samo Kralj, Jan Thoen, Zdravko Kutnjak, 2021, review article Abstract: Recent advances in experimental studies of nanoparticle-driven stabilization of chiral liquid-crystalline phases are highlighted. The stabilization is achieved via the nanoparticles’ assembly in the defect lattices of the soft liquid-crystalline hosts. This is of significant importance for understanding the interactions of nanoparticles with topological defects and for envisioned technological applications. We demonstrate that blue phases are stabilized and twist-grain boundary phases are induced by dispersing surface-functionalized CdSSe quantum dots, spherical Au nanoparticles, as well as MoS2 nanoplatelets and reduced-graphene oxide nanosheets in chiral liquid crystals. Phase diagrams are shown based on calorimetric and optical measurements. Our findings related to the role of the nanoparticle core composition, size, shape, and surface coating on the stabilization effect are presented, followed by an overview of and comparison with other related studies in the literature. Moreover, the key points of the underlying mechanisms are summarized and prospects in the field are briefly discussed.
Keywords: liquid crystals, nanoparticles, quantum dots, reduced-graphene oxide, calorimetry, microscopy, blue phases, twist-grain boundary phases, disclination lines, screw dislocations
Published in DKUM: 09.08.2024; Views: 97; Downloads: 9
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