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Li Z, Raab A, Kolmangadi MA, Busch M, Grunwald M, Demel F, Bertram F, Kityk AV, Schönhals A, Laschat S, Huber P. Self-Assembly of Ionic Superdiscs in Nanopores. ACS NANO 2024; 18:14414-14426. [PMID: 38760015 PMCID: PMC11155240 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.4c01062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2024] [Revised: 04/23/2024] [Accepted: 05/01/2024] [Indexed: 05/19/2024]
Abstract
Discotic ionic liquid crystals (DILCs) consist of self-assembled superdiscs of cations and anions that spontaneously stack in linear columns with high one-dimensional ionic and electronic charge mobility, making them prominent model systems for functional soft matter. Compared to classical nonionic discotic liquid crystals, many liquid crystalline structures with a combination of electronic and ionic conductivity have been reported, which are of interest for separation membranes, artificial ion/proton conducting membranes, and optoelectronics. Unfortunately, a homogeneous alignment of the DILCs on the macroscale is often not achievable, which significantly limits the applicability of DILCs. Infiltration into nanoporous solid scaffolds can, in principle, overcome this drawback. However, due to the experimental challenges to scrutinize liquid crystalline order in extreme spatial confinement, little is known about the structures of DILCs in nanopores. Here, we present temperature-dependent high-resolution optical birefringence measurement and 3D reciprocal space mapping based on synchrotron X-ray scattering to investigate the thermotropic phase behavior of dopamine-based ionic liquid crystals confined in cylindrical channels of 180 nm diameter in macroscopic anodic aluminum oxide membranes. As a function of the membranes' hydrophilicity and thus the molecular anchoring to the pore walls (edge-on or face-on) and the variation of the hydrophilic-hydrophobic balance between the aromatic cores and the alkyl side chain motifs of the superdiscs by tailored chemical synthesis, we find a particularly rich phase behavior, which is not present in the bulk state. It is governed by a complex interplay of liquid crystalline elastic energies (bending and splay deformations), polar interactions, and pure geometric confinement and includes textural transitions between radial and axial alignment of the columns with respect to the long nanochannel axis. Furthermore, confinement-induced continuous order formation is observed in contrast to discontinuous first-order phase transitions, which can be quantitatively described by Landau-de Gennes free energy models for liquid crystalline order transitions in confinement. Our observations suggest that the infiltration of DILCs into nanoporous solids allows tailoring their nanoscale texture and ion channel formation and thus their electrical and optical functionalities over an even wider range than in the bulk state in a homogeneous manner on the centimeter scale as controlled by the monolithic nanoporous scaffolds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhuoqing Li
- Institute
for Materials and X-ray Physics, Hamburg
University of Technology, Denickestr. 15, 21073 Hamburg, Germany
- Centre
for X-ray and Nano Science CXNS, Deutsches
Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestr. 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Aileen Raab
- Institut
für Organische Chemie, Universität
Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 55, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Mohamed Aejaz Kolmangadi
- Bundesanstalt
für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM), Unter den Eichen 87, 12205 Berlin, Germany
| | - Mark Busch
- Institute
for Materials and X-ray Physics, Hamburg
University of Technology, Denickestr. 15, 21073 Hamburg, Germany
- Centre
for X-ray and Nano Science CXNS, Deutsches
Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestr. 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Marco Grunwald
- Institut
für Organische Chemie, Universität
Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 55, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Felix Demel
- Institut
für Organische Chemie, Universität
Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 55, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Florian Bertram
- Deutsches
Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestr. 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Andriy V. Kityk
- Faculty of
Electrical Engineering, Czestochowa University
of Technology, Al. Armii
Krajowej 17, 42-200 Czestochowa, Poland
| | - Andreas Schönhals
- Bundesanstalt
für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM), Unter den Eichen 87, 12205 Berlin, Germany
- Institut
für Chemie, Technische Universität
Berlin, Straße des
17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin, Germany
| | - Sabine Laschat
- Institut
für Organische Chemie, Universität
Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 55, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Patrick Huber
- Institute
for Materials and X-ray Physics, Hamburg
University of Technology, Denickestr. 15, 21073 Hamburg, Germany
- Centre
for X-ray and Nano Science CXNS, Deutsches
Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestr. 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
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El Karout H, Shchur Y, Andrushchak A, Sahraoui B, Wielgosz R, Kityk O, Jędryka J, Slyvka Y, Kityk AV. Second harmonic generation on crystalline organic nanoclusters under extreme nanoconfinement in functionalized silica-benzil composites. Sci Rep 2023; 13:9943. [PMID: 37337016 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-37147-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2023] [Accepted: 06/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/21/2023] Open
Abstract
We demonstrate a series of organic-inorganic nanocomposite materials combining the mesoporous silica (PS) and benzil (BZL) nanocrystals embedded into its nanochannels (6.0-13.0 nm in diameter) by capillary crystallization. One aims to design novel, efficient nonlinear optical composite materials in which inactive amorphous host PS-matrix provides a tubular scaffold structure, whereas nonlinear optical functionality results from specific properties of the deposited guest BZL-nanocrystals. A considerable contraction of the BZL melt during its crystallization inside the silica nanochannels results in a formation of the texture consisting of (221)- and (003)-oriented BZL nanoclusters (22 nm in length), separated by voids. Specificity of the textural morphology similarly to the spatial confinement significantly influences the nonlinear optical features of composite PS:BZL materials being explored in the second harmonic generation (SHG) experiment. The light polarization anisotropy of the SHG response appears to be considerably reduced at channel diameters larger than 7 nm apparently due to the multiple scattering and depolarization of the light on randomly distributed and crystallographically oriented BZL-nanoclusters. The normalized SHG response decreases nonlinearly by more than one order of magnitude as the channel diameter decreases from 13.0 to 6.0 nm and vanishes when spatial cylindrical confinement approaches the sizes of a few molecular layers suggesting that the embedded BZL clusters indeed are not uniformly crystalline but are characterized by more complex morphology consisting of a disordered SHG-inactive amorphous shell, covering the channel wall, and SHG-active crystalline core. Understanding and controlling of the textural morphology in inorganic-organic nanocrystalline composites as well as its relationships with nonlinear optical properties can lead to the development of novel efficient nonlinear optical materials for the light energy conversion with prospective optoelectronic and photonic applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Houda El Karout
- University of Angers, LPhiA, SFR MATRIX, 2 Bd. Lavoisier, 49045, Angers Cedex 01, France
- University of Angers, MOLTECH-Anjou-UMR CNRS 6200, SFR MATRIX, 49000, Angers, France
| | - Yaroslav Shchur
- Institute for Condensed Matter Physics, 1 Svientsitskii str., Lviv, 79011, Ukraine.
| | | | - Bouchta Sahraoui
- University of Angers, LPhiA, SFR MATRIX, 2 Bd. Lavoisier, 49045, Angers Cedex 01, France
| | - Robert Wielgosz
- Energia Oze Sp. z o.o., ul. Czȩstochowska 7, 42-274, Konopiska, Poland
| | - Olha Kityk
- Energia Oze Sp. z o.o., ul. Czȩstochowska 7, 42-274, Konopiska, Poland
| | - Jarosław Jędryka
- Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Częstochowa University of Technology, Al. Armii Krajowej 17, 42-200, Częstochowa, Poland
| | - Yurii Slyvka
- Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Kyryla i Mefodiya Str. 6, Lviv, 79005, Ukraine
| | - Andriy V Kityk
- Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Częstochowa University of Technology, Al. Armii Krajowej 17, 42-200, Częstochowa, Poland.
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Waszkowska K, Cheret Y, Guichaoua D, Travers T, El-Ghayoury A, Gindre D, Göring P, Lelonek M, Andrushchak A, Goncharova I, Sahraoui B. Enhanced nonlinearities in hybrid structure based on nanoporous membrane and a metallohelicate with promising application in nanophotonics and NLO. OPTICS LETTERS 2023; 48:2897-2900. [PMID: 37262238 DOI: 10.1364/ol.487756] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2023] [Accepted: 04/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
The main purposes of this work are designing new hybrid structures based on alumina nanoporous membranes with specific metallosupramolecular structure as well as studies of their usefulness in nonlinear optics (NLO). The NLO studies of the hybrid material is performed on the basis of two methods: the first by the Maker fringe technique, where the second harmonic generation (SHG) signal is recorded by rotating the sample; and the second by SHG imaging microscopy, where the SHG signal is collected point by point on the sample surface. The enhanced SHG signals were obtained without the use of the corona poling method needed during the experiment on thin films in our previous works and clearly shows the efficiency of hybrid materials based on nanoporous membranes as promising materials in devices developed based on NLO.
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Chen ZQ, Sun YW, Zhu YL, Li ZW, Sun ZY. A chiral smectic phase induced by an alternating external field. SOFT MATTER 2022; 18:2569-2576. [PMID: 35293929 DOI: 10.1039/d2sm00093h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Using simple achiral building blocks modulated by an external field to achieve chiral liquid crystal phases remains a challenge. In this study, a chiral helix liquid crystal phase is obtained for a simple Gay-Berne ellipsoid model under an alternating external field by using molecular dynamics simulations. Our results show that the chiral helix liquid crystal phase can be observed in a wide range of external field strengths when the oscillation period is smaller than the rotational characteristic diffusion timescale of ellipsoids. In addition, we find that the pitch and tilt angle of the helix structure can also be adjusted by changing the strength and oscillation period of the applied alternating external field. This may provide a feasible route for the regulation of chiral liquid crystal phases by an alternating external field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zi-Qin Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, China.
- University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China
| | - Yu-Wei Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, China.
- University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China
| | - You-Liang Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, China.
- University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China
| | - Zhan-Wei Li
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, China.
- University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China
| | - Zhao-Yan Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, China.
- University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China
- Xinjiang Laboratory of Phase Transitions and Microstructures in Condensed Matters, College of Physical Science and Technology, Yili Normal University, Yining, 835000, China
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Kityk AV, Nowak M, Reben M, Pawlik P, Lelonek M, Andrushchak A, Shchur Y, Andrushchak N, Huber P. Dynamic Kerr and Pockels electro-optics of liquid crystals in nanopores for active photonic metamaterials. NANOSCALE 2021; 13:18714-18725. [PMID: 34739018 PMCID: PMC8601124 DOI: 10.1039/d1nr04282c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2021] [Accepted: 09/13/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Photonic metamaterials with properties unattainable in base materials are already beginning to revolutionize optical component design. However, their exceptional characteristics are often static, as artificially engineered into the material during the fabrication process. This limits their application for in-operando adjustable optical devices and active optics in general. Here, for a hybrid material consisting of a liquid crystal-infused nanoporous solid, we demonstrate active and dynamic control of its meta-optics by applying alternating electric fields parallel to the long axes of its cylindrical pores. First-harmonic Pockels and second-harmonic Kerr birefringence responses, strongly depending on the excitation frequency and temperature, are observed in a frequency range from 50 Hz to 50 kHz. This peculiar behavior is quantitatively traced by a Landau-De Gennes free energy analysis to an order-disorder orientational transition of the rod-like mesogens and intimately related changes in the molecular mobilities and polar anchoring at the solid walls on the single-pore, meta-atomic scale. Thus, our study provides evidence that liquid crystal-infused nanopores exhibit integrated multi-physical couplings and reversible phase changes that make them particularly promising for the design of photonic metamaterials with thermo-electrically tunable birefringence in the emerging field of space-time metamaterials aiming at full spatio-temporal control of light.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andriy V Kityk
- Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czestochowa University of Technology, Al. Armii Krajowej 17, 42-200 Czestochowa, Poland.
| | - Marcjan Nowak
- Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czestochowa University of Technology, Al. Armii Krajowej 17, 42-200 Czestochowa, Poland.
| | - Manuela Reben
- Faculty of Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH-University of Science and Technology, al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Cracow, Poland
| | - Piotr Pawlik
- Faculty of Production Engineering and Materials Science, Czestochowa University of Technology, Al. Armii Krajowej 19, 42-200 Czestochowa, Poland
| | - Monika Lelonek
- SmartMembranes GmbH, Heinrich-Damerow-Str. 4, 06120 Halle(Saale), Germany
| | - Anatoliy Andrushchak
- Department of Applied Physics and Nanomaterials Science, Lviv Polytechnic National University, 12 Bandery Str., Lviv 79013, Ukraine
| | - Yaroslav Shchur
- Institute for Condensed Matter Physics, 1 Svientsitskii str., 79011 Lviv, Ukraine
| | - Nazariy Andrushchak
- Department of Computer-Aided Design Systems, Lviv Polytechnic National University, 12 Bandery Str., Lviv 79013, Ukraine
- Private Enterprise SoftPartners, 97 Konovalca str., 79057 Lviv, Ukraine
| | - Patrick Huber
- Hamburg University of Technology, Institute for Materials and X-Ray Physics, 21073 Hamburg, Germany.
- Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Centre for X-Ray and Nano Science CXNS, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
- Hamburg University, Centre for Hybrid Nanostructures CHyN, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
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6
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Kityk AV, Gor GY, Huber P. Adsorption from binary liquid solutions into mesoporous silica: a capacitance isotherm on 5CB nematogen/cyclohexane mixtures. Mol Phys 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/00268976.2021.1909160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Andriy V. Kityk
- Institute for Materials and X-Ray Physics, Hamburg University of Technology, Hamburg, Germany
- Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czestochowa University of Technology, Czestochowa, Poland
| | - Gennady Y. Gor
- Otto H. York Department Chemical and Materials Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, University Heights, Newark, NJ, USA
| | - Patrick Huber
- Institute for Materials and X-Ray Physics, Hamburg University of Technology, Hamburg, Germany
- High-Resolution X-Ray Analytics of Materials Research Group, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Hamburg, Germany
- Centre for Hybrid Nanostructures CHyN, Hamburg University, Hamburg, Germany
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7
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Milchev A, Binder K. Cylindrical confinement of solutions containing semiflexible macromolecules: surface-induced nematic order versus phase separation. SOFT MATTER 2021; 17:3443-3454. [PMID: 33646224 DOI: 10.1039/d1sm00172h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Solutions of semiflexible polymers confined in cylindrical pores with repulsive walls are studied by Molecular Dynamics simulations for a wide range of polymer concentrations. Both the case where both lengths are of the same order and the case when the persistence length by far exceeds the contour length are considered, and the enhancement of nematic order along the cylinder axis is characterized. With increasing density the character of the surface effect changes from depletion to the formation of a layered structure. For binary 50 : 50 mixtures of the two types of polymers an interplay between surface enrichment of the stiffer component and the isotropic-nematic transition is found, and a phase separated structure with cylindrical symmetry occurs, with the isotropic phase located around the cylinder axis. For melt densities the mixed nematic phase forms at the wall a layer with a screw-like structure of a tilted smectic phase. The observed behavior is tentatively interpreted in terms of the competition of the chain orientational entropy with entropy of mixing and excluded volume due to the wall.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrey Milchev
- Institute for Physical Chemistry, Bulgarian Academia of Sciences, 1113, Sofia, Bulgaria.
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Domagalski JT, Xifre-Perez E, Marsal LF. Recent Advances in Nanoporous Anodic Alumina: Principles, Engineering, and Applications. NANOMATERIALS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2021; 11:430. [PMID: 33567787 PMCID: PMC7914664 DOI: 10.3390/nano11020430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2021] [Revised: 01/31/2021] [Accepted: 02/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The development of aluminum anodization technology features many stages. With the story stretching for almost a century, rather straightforward-from current perspective-technology, raised into an iconic nanofabrication technique. The intrinsic properties of alumina porous structures constitute the vast utility in distinct fields. Nanoporous anodic alumina can be a starting point for: Templates, photonic structures, membranes, drug delivery platforms or nanoparticles, and more. Current state of the art would not be possible without decades of consecutive findings, during which, step by step, the technique was more understood. This review aims at providing an update regarding recent discoveries-improvements in the fabrication technology, a deeper understanding of the process, and a practical application of the material-providing a narrative supported with a proper background.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Lluis F. Marsal
- Departament d’Enginyeria Electrònica, Elèctrica i Automàtica, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Avinguda dels Països Catalans, 26, 43007 Tarragona, Spain; (J.T.D.); (E.X.-P.)
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9
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Chat K, Tu W, Beena Unni A, Geppert-Rybczyńska M, Adrjanowicz K. Study on the glass transition dynamics and crystallization kinetics of molecular liquid, dimethyl phthalate, confined in Anodized Aluminum Oxide (AAO) nanopores with Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) coatings. J Mol Liq 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molliq.2020.113296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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10
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Jasiurkowska-Delaporte M, Juszyńska-Gałązka E, Zieliński PM, Marzec M. Studies of molecular dynamics and non-isothermal crystallization process of 4-n-butyloxybenzylidene-4′-n'-octylaniline (BBOA) liquid crystal under two dimensional nano-confinement. J Mol Liq 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molliq.2020.113039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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11
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Sentker K, Yildirim A, Lippmann M, Zantop AW, Bertram F, Hofmann T, Seeck OH, Kityk AV, Mazza MG, Schönhals A, Huber P. Self-assembly of liquid crystals in nanoporous solids for adaptive photonic metamaterials. NANOSCALE 2019; 11:23304-23317. [PMID: 31788679 DOI: 10.1039/c9nr07143a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Nanoporous media exhibit structures significantly smaller than the wavelengths of visible light and can thus act as photonic metamaterials. Their optical functionality is not determined by the properties of the base materials, but rather by tailored, multiscale structures, in terms of precise pore shape, geometry, and orientation. Embedding liquid crystals in pore space provides additional opportunities to control light-matter interactions at the single-pore, meta-atomic scale. Here, we present temperature-dependent 3D reciprocal space mapping using synchrotron-based X-ray diffraction in combination with high-resolution birefringence experiments on disk-like mesogens (HAT6) imbibed in self-ordered arrays of parallel cylindrical pores 17 to 160 nm across in monolithic anodic aluminium oxide (AAO). In agreement with Monte Carlo computer simulations we observe a remarkably rich self-assembly behaviour, unknown from the bulk state. It encompasses transitions between the isotropic liquid state and discotic stacking in linear columns as well as circular concentric ring formation perpendicular and parallel to the pore axis. These textural transitions underpin an optical birefringence functionality, tuneable in magnitude and in sign from positive to negative via pore size, pore surface-grafting and temperature. Our study demonstrates that the advent of large-scale, self-organised nanoporosity in monolithic solids along with confinement-controllable phase behaviour of liquid-crystalline matter at the single-pore scale provides a reliable and accessible tool to design materials with adjustable optical anisotropy, and thus offers versatile pathways to fine-tune polarisation-dependent light propagation speeds in materials. Such a tailorability is at the core of the emerging field of transformative optics, allowing, e.g., adjustable light absorbers and extremely thin metalenses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathrin Sentker
- Institute of Materials Physics and Technology, Hamburg University of Technology, 21073 Hamburg, Germany.
| | - Arda Yildirim
- Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM), Unter den Eichen 87, D-12205 Berlin, Germany
| | - Milena Lippmann
- Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestrasse 85, D-22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Arne W Zantop
- Max-Planck-Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Am Faßberg 17, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Florian Bertram
- Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestrasse 85, D-22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Tommy Hofmann
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie, 14109 Berlin, Germany
| | - Oliver H Seeck
- Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestrasse 85, D-22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Andriy V Kityk
- Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czestochowa University of Technology, 42-200 Czestochowa, Poland.
| | - Marco G Mazza
- Max-Planck-Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Am Faßberg 17, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany and Interdisciplinary Centre for Mathematical Modelling and Department of Mathematical Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE11 3TU, UK
| | - Andreas Schönhals
- Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM), Unter den Eichen 87, D-12205 Berlin, Germany
| | - Patrick Huber
- Institute of Materials Physics and Technology, Hamburg University of Technology, 21073 Hamburg, Germany.
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12
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Capillarity-Driven Oil Flow in Nanopores: Darcy Scale Analysis of Lucas–Washburn Imbibition Dynamics. Transp Porous Media 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s11242-018-1133-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
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13
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Sentker K, Zantop AW, Lippmann M, Hofmann T, Seeck OH, Kityk AV, Yildirim A, Schönhals A, Mazza MG, Huber P. Quantized Self-Assembly of Discotic Rings in a Liquid Crystal Confined in Nanopores. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2018; 120:067801. [PMID: 29481274 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.120.067801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2017] [Revised: 11/21/2017] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Disklike molecules with aromatic cores spontaneously stack up in linear columns with high, one-dimensional charge carrier mobilities along the columnar axes, making them prominent model systems for functional, self-organized matter. We show by high-resolution optical birefringence and synchrotron-based x-ray diffraction that confining a thermotropic discotic liquid crystal in cylindrical nanopores induces a quantized formation of annular layers consisting of concentric circular bent columns, unknown in the bulk state. Starting from the walls this ring self-assembly propagates layer by layer towards the pore center in the supercooled domain of the bulk isotropic-columnar transition and thus allows one to switch on and off reversibly single, nanosized rings through small temperature variations. By establishing a Gibbs free energy phase diagram we trace the phase transition quantization to the discreteness of the layers' excess bend deformation energies in comparison to the thermal energy, even for this near room-temperature system. Monte Carlo simulations yielding spatially resolved nematic order parameters, density maps, and bond-orientational order parameters corroborate the universality and robustness of the confinement-induced columnar ring formation as well as its quantized nature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathrin Sentker
- Institut für Materialphysik und -technologie, Technische Universität Hamburg (TUHH), Eißendorferstr. 42, D-21073 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Arne W Zantop
- Max-Planck-Institut für Dynamik und Selbstorganisation, Am Faßberg 17, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Milena Lippmann
- Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron (DESY), Notkestraße 85, D-22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Tommy Hofmann
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie, Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1, D-14109 Berlin, Germany
| | - Oliver H Seeck
- Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron (DESY), Notkestraße 85, D-22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Andriy V Kityk
- Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czestochowa University of Technology, Al. Armii Krajowej 17, P-42-200 Czestochowa, Poland
| | - Arda Yildirim
- Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM), Unter den Eichen 87, D-12205 Berlin, Germany
| | - Andreas Schönhals
- Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM), Unter den Eichen 87, D-12205 Berlin, Germany
| | - Marco G Mazza
- Max-Planck-Institut für Dynamik und Selbstorganisation, Am Faßberg 17, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Patrick Huber
- Institut für Materialphysik und -technologie, Technische Universität Hamburg (TUHH), Eißendorferstr. 42, D-21073 Hamburg, Germany
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14
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Sumer Z, Striolo A. Manipulating molecular order in nematic liquid crystal capillary bridgesviasurfactant adsorption: guiding principles from dissipative particle dynamics simulations. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2018; 20:30514-30524. [DOI: 10.1039/c8cp04492a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Effect of surfactant tail length on the orientation of liquid crystals is investigated with dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeynep Sumer
- Department of Chemical Engineering
- University College London
- London WC1E 7JE
- UK
| | - Alberto Striolo
- Department of Chemical Engineering
- University College London
- London WC1E 7JE
- UK
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