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Gibb CJ, Hobbs J, Nikolova DI, Raistrick T, Berrow SR, Mertelj A, Osterman N, Sebastián N, Gleeson HF, Mandle RJ. Spontaneous symmetry breaking in polar fluids. Nat Commun 2024; 15:5845. [PMID: 38992039 PMCID: PMC11239904 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-50230-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2024] [Accepted: 07/03/2024] [Indexed: 07/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Spontaneous symmetry breaking and emergent polar order are each of fundamental importance to a range of scientific disciplines, as well as generating rich phase behaviour in liquid crystals (LCs). Here, we show the union of these phenomena to lead to two previously undiscovered polar liquid states of matter. Both phases have a lamellar structure with an inherent polar ordering of their constituent molecules. The first of these phases is characterised by polar order and a local tilted structure; the tilt direction processes about a helix orthogonal to the layer normal, the period of which is such that we observe selective reflection of light. The second new phase type is anti-ferroelectric, with the constituent molecules aligning orthogonally to the layer normal. This has led us to term the phases the Sm C P H and SmAAF phases, respectively. Further to this, we obtain room temperature ferroelectric nematic (NF) and Sm C P H phases via binary mixture formulation of the novel materials described here with a standard NF compound (DIO), with the resultant materials having melting points (and/or glass transitions) which are significantly below ambient temperature. The new soft matter phase types discovered herein can be considered as electrical analogues of topological structures of magnetic spins in hard matter.
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Affiliation(s)
- Calum J Gibb
- School of Chemistry, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - Jordan Hobbs
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | | | | | - Stuart R Berrow
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | | | - Natan Osterman
- Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | | | - Helen F Gleeson
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - Richard J Mandle
- School of Chemistry, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
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Gibb CJ, Majewska M, Pociecha D, Storey JMD, Gorecka E, Imrie CT. Liquid Crystal Dimers and the Twist-Bend Phases: Non-Symmetric Dimers Consisting of Mesogenic Units of Differing Lengths. Chemphyschem 2024; 25:e202300848. [PMID: 38233352 DOI: 10.1002/cphc.202300848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2023] [Revised: 01/17/2024] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 01/19/2024]
Abstract
The syntheses and characterisation of the 4-[{[4-({n-[4-(4-cyanophenyl)phenyl]-n-yl}oxy)phenyl]-methylidene}amino]phenyl-4-alkoxybenzoates (CBnOIBeOm) are reported with n=8 and 10 and m=1-10. The two series display fascinating liquid crystal polymorphism. All twenty reported homologues display an enantiotropic nematic (N) phase at high temperature. When the length of the spacer (n) is greater than that of the terminal chain (m), the twist-bend nematic (NTB) phase is observed at temperatures below the N phase. As the length of the terminal chain is increased and extends beyond the length of the spacer up to three smectic phases are observed on cooling the N phase. One of these smectic phases has been assigned as the rare twist-bend smectic C subphase, the SmCTB-α phase. In all the smectic phases, a monolayer packing arrangement is seen, and this is attributed to the anti-parallel associations of the like mesogenic units.
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Affiliation(s)
- Calum J Gibb
- Department of Chemistry, School of Natural and Computing Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Meston Building, Aberdeen, AB24 3UE, UK
| | - Magdalena Majewska
- University of Warsaw, Faculty of Chemistry, ul. Zwirki i Wigury 101, 02-089, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Damian Pociecha
- University of Warsaw, Faculty of Chemistry, ul. Zwirki i Wigury 101, 02-089, Warsaw, Poland
| | - John M D Storey
- Department of Chemistry, School of Natural and Computing Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Meston Building, Aberdeen, AB24 3UE, UK
| | - Ewa Gorecka
- University of Warsaw, Faculty of Chemistry, ul. Zwirki i Wigury 101, 02-089, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Corrie T Imrie
- Department of Chemistry, School of Natural and Computing Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Meston Building, Aberdeen, AB24 3UE, UK
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Grabovac T, Gorecka E, Zhu C, Pociecha D, Vaupotič N. Unmasking the structure of a chiral cubic thermotropic liquid crystal phase by a combination of soft and tender resonant X-ray scattering. SOFT MATTER 2022; 18:8194-8200. [PMID: 36269084 DOI: 10.1039/d2sm01030e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
A resonant X-ray scattering response for two structural models of a chiral cubic phase with a giant unit cell, one composed of a continuous grid and micelles and the other with three continuous grids, is studied theoretically and compared to experimental measurements. For both structural models resonant enhancement of all the symmetry-allowed diffraction peaks is predicted, as well as the existance of several symmetry forbidden peaks (pure resonant peaks). Experimental measurements were performed at the carbon and sulphur absorption edge. Only one pure resonant peak was observed, which is predicted by both models. Two low-angle symmetry allowed peaks, not observed in non-resonant scattering, were resonantly enhanced and their intensity angular dependence can distinguish between the two structural models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timon Grabovac
- Department of Physics, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Maribor, Koroška 160, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia.
| | - Ewa Gorecka
- Faculty of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, Żwirki i Wigury 101, 02-089 Warsaw, Poland.
| | - Chenhui Zhu
- Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - Damian Pociecha
- Faculty of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, Żwirki i Wigury 101, 02-089 Warsaw, Poland.
| | - Nataša Vaupotič
- Department of Physics, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Maribor, Koroška 160, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia.
- Jozef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
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Alshammari AF, Pociecha D, Walker R, Storey JMD, Gorecka E, Imrie CT. New patterns of twist-bend liquid crystal phase behaviour: the synthesis and characterisation of the 1-(4-cyanobiphenyl-4'-yl)-10-(4-alkylaniline-benzylidene-4'-oxy)decanes (CB10O· m). SOFT MATTER 2022; 18:4679-4688. [PMID: 35678154 DOI: 10.1039/d2sm00162d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The synthesis and characterisation of the 1-(4-cyanobiphenyl-4'-yl)-10-(4-alkylanilinebenzylidene-4'-oxy)decanes (CB10O·m) are reported. This series shows a rich liquid crystal polymorphism including twist-bend nematic and smectic phases. All the homologues reported exhibit an enantiotropic conventional nematic phase. For the homologues with m ≤ 10, the local packing in the nematic phases and the layer spacing in the smectic phases indicates an intercalated arrangement of the molecules. An intercalated smectic CA phase is observed if m/11 ≈ 0.5. Either side of this condition, the twist-bend nematic phase is observed, a novel pattern of behaviour for a series on increasing a terminal chain length. For longer chain lengths, m = 12, 14, 16 and 18, two twist-bend smectic C (SmCTB) phases are observed, and the packing of the molecules is now of a bilayer-type. The higher temperature variant is termed SmCTB-SH in which SH (single helix) refers to the presence of a short, distorted clock-type helix. In the lower temperature SmCTB-DH phase, an additional longer helix is superimposed on the short one, and DH denotes double helix.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahlam F Alshammari
- Department of Chemistry, School of Natural and Computing Sciences, University of Aberdeen, AB24 3UE Scotland, UK.
| | - Damian Pociecha
- University of Warsaw, Faculty of Chemistry, ul. Zwirki i Wigury 101, 02-089 ˙ Warsaw, Poland
| | - Rebecca Walker
- Department of Chemistry, School of Natural and Computing Sciences, University of Aberdeen, AB24 3UE Scotland, UK.
| | - John M D Storey
- Department of Chemistry, School of Natural and Computing Sciences, University of Aberdeen, AB24 3UE Scotland, UK.
| | - Ewa Gorecka
- University of Warsaw, Faculty of Chemistry, ul. Zwirki i Wigury 101, 02-089 ˙ Warsaw, Poland
| | - Corrie T Imrie
- Department of Chemistry, School of Natural and Computing Sciences, University of Aberdeen, AB24 3UE Scotland, UK.
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Electrooptic, pyroelectric and dielectric spectroscopic studies of nematic and twist bend nematic phases of achiral hockey-shaped bent-core liquid crystal. J Mol Liq 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molliq.2022.118632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Helical phases assembled from achiral molecules: Twist-bend nematic and helical filamentary B4 phases formed by mesogenic dimers. J Mol Liq 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molliq.2021.118180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
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