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Converse Flexoelectric Effect In A Bent-Core Nematic Liquid Crystal, John Harden, R. Teeling, Jim T. Gleeson, Samuel N. Sprunt, Antal Jakli
Converse Flexoelectric Effect In A Bent-Core Nematic Liquid Crystal, John Harden, R. Teeling, Jim T. Gleeson, Samuel N. Sprunt, Antal Jakli
Antal Jakli
Flexoelectricity is a unique property of liquid crystals; it is a linear coupling between electric polarizations and bend and/or splay distortions of the direction of average molecular orientation. Recently it was shown [J. Harden et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 157802 (2006)] that the bend flexoelectric coefficient in bent-core nematic liquid crystals can be three orders of magnitude higher than the effect with calamitic (rod-shaped) molecular shape. Here we report the converse of the flexoelectric effect: An electric field applied across a bent-core liquid crystal sandwiched between thin flexible substrates produces a director distortion which is manifested as a polarity-dependent …
Alignment By Langmuir/Schaefer Monolayers Of Bent-Core Liquid Crystals, Wilder Iglesias, Timothy Smith, Prem Basnet, Sharon Stefanovic, Carsten Tschierske, Daniel Lacks, Antal Jakli, Elizabeth Mann
Alignment By Langmuir/Schaefer Monolayers Of Bent-Core Liquid Crystals, Wilder Iglesias, Timothy Smith, Prem Basnet, Sharon Stefanovic, Carsten Tschierske, Daniel Lacks, Antal Jakli, Elizabeth Mann
Antal Jakli
Langmuir films of bent-core molecules at the air/water interface are transferred onto a solid surface by the inverse-Langmuir-Schaefer (ILS) technique. Previous work by the authors demonstrated that ILS films of a symmetric bent-core molecule can serve as effective planar alignment layers for a nematic bent-core liquid crystal cell, but the Langmuir films were unstable and formed multilayers at very low pressures. Here, films of bent-core molecules with one hydrophilic end connected to the bent core by a short aliphatic chain are tested as alignment layers. The hydrophilic group led to much more stable Langmuir films, and also to a molecular …