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Directed self-assembly of liquid crystalline blue-phases into ideal single-crystals.


ABSTRACT: Chiral nematic liquid crystals are known to form blue phases-liquid states of matter that exhibit ordered cubic arrangements of topological defects. Blue-phase specimens, however, are generally polycrystalline, consisting of randomly oriented domains that limit their performance in applications. A strategy that relies on nano-patterned substrates is presented here for preparation of stable, macroscopic single-crystal blue-phase materials. Different template designs are conceived to exert control over different planes of the blue-phase lattice orientation with respect to the underlying substrate. Experiments are then used to demonstrate that it is indeed possible to create stable single-crystal blue-phase domains with the desired orientation over large regions. These results provide a potential avenue to fully exploit the electro-optical properties of blue phases, which have been hindered by the existence of grain boundaries.

SUBMITTER: Martinez-Gonzalez JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5481765 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Directed self-assembly of liquid crystalline blue-phases into ideal single-crystals.

Martínez-González Jose A JA   Li Xiao X   Sadati Monirosadat M   Zhou Ye Y   Zhang Rui R   Nealey Paul F PF   de Pablo Juan J JJ  

Nature communications 20170616


Chiral nematic liquid crystals are known to form blue phases-liquid states of matter that exhibit ordered cubic arrangements of topological defects. Blue-phase specimens, however, are generally polycrystalline, consisting of randomly oriented domains that limit their performance in applications. A strategy that relies on nano-patterned substrates is presented here for preparation of stable, macroscopic single-crystal blue-phase materials. Different template designs are conceived to exert control  ...[more]

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