Topological Ferroelectric Bistability in a Polarization-Modulated Orthogonal Smectic Liquid Crystal
Journal article, 2012
We report a bent-core liquid crystal (LC) compound exhibiting two fluid smectic phases in which two-dimensional, polar, orthorhombic layers order into three-dimensional ferroelectric states. The lower-temperature phase has a uniform polarization field which responds in an analog fashion to applied electric field. The higher-temperature phase is a new smectic state with periodic undulation of the polarization, structurally modulated layers, and a bistable response to applied electric field which originates in the periodically splay-modulated bulk of the LC rather than by surface stabilization at the cell boundaries.
achiral molecules
transition
phase
order
Author
C. H. Zhu
University of Colorado at Boulder
R. F. Shao
University of Colorado at Boulder
R. A. Reddy
University of Colorado at Boulder
D. Chen
University of Colorado at Boulder
Y. Q. Shen
University of Colorado at Boulder
T. Gong
University of Colorado at Boulder
M. A. Glaser
University of Colorado at Boulder
E. Korblova
University of Colorado at Boulder
Per Rudquist
Chalmers, Applied Physics, Electronics Material and Systems
J. E. Maclennan
University of Colorado at Boulder
D. M. Walba
University of Colorado at Boulder
N. A. Clark
University of Colorado at Boulder
Journal of the American Chemical Society
0002-7863 (ISSN) 1520-5126 (eISSN)
Vol. 134 23 9681-9687Subject Categories
Chemical Sciences
DOI
10.1021/ja3009314