1
|
Varela-Domínguez N, López-Bueno C, López-Moreno A, Claro MS, Rama G, Leborán V, Giménez-López MDC, Rivadulla F. Light-induced bi-directional switching of thermal conductivity in azobenzene-doped liquid crystal mesophases. JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY. C 2023; 11:4588-4594. [PMID: 37033203 PMCID: PMC10077501 DOI: 10.1039/d3tc00099k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2023] [Accepted: 02/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
The development of systems that can be switched between states with different thermal conductivities is one of the current challenges in materials science. Despite their enormous diversity and chemical richness, molecular materials have been only scarcely explored in this regard. Here, we report a reversible, light-triggered thermal conductivity switching of ≈30-40% in mesophases of pure 4,4'-dialkyloxy-3-methylazobenzene. By doping a liquid crystal matrix with the azobenzene molecules, reversible and bidirectional switching of the thermal conductivity can be achieved by UV/Vis-light irradiation. Given the enormous variety of photoactive molecules and chemically compatible liquid crystal mesophases, this approach opens unforeseen possibilities for developing effective thermal switches based on molecular materials.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Noa Varela-Domínguez
- CiQUS, Centro Singular de Investigacion en Quimica Bioloxica e Materiais Moleculares, Departamento de Quimica-Fisica, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela 15782-Santiago de Compostela Spain
| | - Carlos López-Bueno
- CiQUS, Centro Singular de Investigacion en Quimica Bioloxica e Materiais Moleculares, Departamento de Quimica-Fisica, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela 15782-Santiago de Compostela Spain
| | - Alejandro López-Moreno
- CiQUS, Centro Singular de Investigacion en Quimica Bioloxica e Materiais Moleculares, Departamento de Quimica-Inorganica, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela 15782-Santiago de Compostela Spain
| | - Marcel S Claro
- CiQUS, Centro Singular de Investigacion en Quimica Bioloxica e Materiais Moleculares, Departamento de Quimica-Fisica, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela 15782-Santiago de Compostela Spain
| | - Gustavo Rama
- CiQUS, Centro Singular de Investigacion en Quimica Bioloxica e Materiais Moleculares, Departamento de Quimica-Inorganica, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela 15782-Santiago de Compostela Spain
| | - Víctor Leborán
- CiQUS, Centro Singular de Investigacion en Quimica Bioloxica e Materiais Moleculares, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela 15782-Santiago de Compostela Spain
| | - María Del Carmen Giménez-López
- CiQUS, Centro Singular de Investigacion en Quimica Bioloxica e Materiais Moleculares, Departamento de Quimica-Inorganica, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela 15782-Santiago de Compostela Spain
| | - Francisco Rivadulla
- CiQUS, Centro Singular de Investigacion en Quimica Bioloxica e Materiais Moleculares, Departamento de Quimica-Fisica, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela 15782-Santiago de Compostela Spain
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Tu X, Zeng Y, Wang S, Li L, Li C, Wang Z. Comprehensive characterization of thermal and mechanical properties in thin metal film-glass substrate system by ultrafast laser pump-probe method. OPTICS EXPRESS 2022; 30:46193-46208. [PMID: 36558579 DOI: 10.1364/oe.468310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2022] [Accepted: 11/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Picosecond ultrasonics (PU), time-domain Brillouin scattering (TDBS), and time-domain thermo-reflectance (TDTR) are all in-situ, non-destructive, and non-contact experimental techniques based on the ultrafast laser pump-probe method, which can generate and detect coherent acoustic phonons (CAP) and thermal transport in thin metal film-glass substrate system. However, these techniques are generally considered different experimental methods to characterize the thermal or mechanical properties of metal nano-objects or transparent materials. Here we present a comprehensive characterization of the generation, propagation, and attenuation of high-frequency CAP and cross-plane thermal transport in the thin Cr film-glass substrate system by PU, TDBS, and TDTR. To investigate the key factors of characterizations, two kinds of thin Cr film-glass substrate systems were measured on the film side and substrate side. The measured thermal and mechanical properties show that boundary conditions and film thickness have significantly affected the characterization.
Collapse
|
3
|
Stemo G, Yamada H, Katsuki H, Yanagi H. Influence of Vibrational Strong Coupling on an Ordered Liquid Crystal. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:9399-9407. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c04004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Garrek Stemo
- Graduate School of Science and Technology, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Ikoma 630-0192 Japan
| | - Hayata Yamada
- Graduate School of Science and Technology, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Ikoma 630-0192 Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Katsuki
- Graduate School of Science and Technology, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Ikoma 630-0192 Japan
| | - Hisao Yanagi
- Graduate School of Science and Technology, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Ikoma 630-0192 Japan
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Kalita P, Singh RK, Bhattacharjee A. Interactions of a biological macromolecule with thermotropic liquid crystals: Applications of liquid crystals in biosensing platform. SPECTROCHIMICA ACTA. PART A, MOLECULAR AND BIOMOLECULAR SPECTROSCOPY 2022; 278:121347. [PMID: 35550995 DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2022.121347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2022] [Revised: 04/08/2022] [Accepted: 05/01/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Liquid crystal biosensor was developed based on a 4'-octyl-4-biphenylcarbonitrile (8CB) by adsorption of biological macromolecule bovine serum albumin (BSA) at the 8CB interface. BSA was detected by examining the changes in the director configurations of 8CB molecules under a polarizing optical microscope. The transitions in the director configuration were due to the non-covalent bonds. This technique demonstrated high sensitivity at a concentration of 100 µM of BSA. The binding events between the 8CB and BSA were investigated through molecular docking studies that confirmed the protein-ligand interaction. The most probable binding location of 8CB to dock with BSA were determined at a subdomain IB of Sudlow's site I. The active residues on analyzing were found to stabilize the 8CB molecules through different interactions. These active residues that were involved in the protein-ligand interaction were further confirmed with Raman spectroscopy. This study provided the vibrational properties and structural changes that occurred due to the various interactions between the 8CB and BSA. The results presented in this work lead to a potential biosensing tool for detecting and sensing proteins using LCs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Priyanki Kalita
- Department of Physics, National Institute of Technology Meghalaya, Bijni Complex, Shillong 793003, India
| | - Ranjan K Singh
- Department of Physics, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh 221005, India
| | - Ayon Bhattacharjee
- Department of Physics, National Institute of Technology Meghalaya, Bijni Complex, Shillong 793003, India.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Chaban I, Deska R, Privault G, Trzop E, Lorenc M, Kooi SE, Nelson KA, Samoc M, Matczyszyn K, Pezeril T. Nonlinear Optical Absorption in Nanoscale Films Revealed through Ultrafast Acoustics. NANO LETTERS 2022; 22:4362-4367. [PMID: 35587204 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.2c00771] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Herein we describe a novel spinning pump-probe photoacoustic technique developed to study nonlinear absorption in thin films. As a test case, an organic polycrystalline thin film of quinacridone, a well-known pigment, with a thickness in the tens of nanometers range, is excited by a femtosecond laser pulse which generates a time-domain Brillouin scattering signal. This signal is directly related to the strain wave launched from the film into the substrate and can be used to quantitatively extract the nonlinear optical absorption properties of the film itself. Quinacridone exhibits both quadratic and cubic laser fluence dependence regimes which we show to correspond to two- and three-photon absorption processes. This technique can be broadly applied to materials that are difficult or impossible to characterize with conventional transmittance-based measurements including materials at the nanoscale, prone to laser damage, with very weak nonlinear properties, opaque, or highly scattering.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ievgeniia Chaban
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Radoslaw Deska
- Advanced Materials Engineering and Modelling Group, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, PL-50370 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Gael Privault
- Institut de Physique de Rennes, UMR CNRS 6251, Université Rennes 1, 35042 Rennes Cedex, France
| | - Elzbieta Trzop
- Institut de Physique de Rennes, UMR CNRS 6251, Université Rennes 1, 35042 Rennes Cedex, France
| | - Maciej Lorenc
- Institut de Physique de Rennes, UMR CNRS 6251, Université Rennes 1, 35042 Rennes Cedex, France
| | - Steven E Kooi
- Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Keith A Nelson
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Marek Samoc
- Advanced Materials Engineering and Modelling Group, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, PL-50370 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Katarzyna Matczyszyn
- Advanced Materials Engineering and Modelling Group, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, PL-50370 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Thomas Pezeril
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- Institut de Physique de Rennes, UMR CNRS 6251, Université Rennes 1, 35042 Rennes Cedex, France
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Birdi N, Underwood TL, Wilding NB, Puri S, Banerjee V. Equilibrium phases and domain growth kinetics of calamitic liquid crystals. Phys Rev E 2022; 105:024706. [PMID: 35291087 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.105.024706] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2021] [Accepted: 01/29/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The anisotropic shape of calamitic liquid crystal (LC) particles results in distinct values of energy when the nematogens are placed side by side or end to end. This anisotropy in energy which is governed by a parameter κ^{'} has deep consequences on equilibrium and nonequilibrium properties. Using the Gay-Berne (GB) model, which exhibits the nematic (Nm) as well as the low-temperature smectic (Sm) order, we undertake large-scale Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics simulations to probe the effect of κ^{'} on the equilibrium phase diagram and the nonequilibrium domain growth following a quench in the temperature T or coarsening. There are two transitions in the GB model: (i) isotropic to Nm at T_{c}^{1} and (ii) Nm to Sm at T_{c}^{2}<T_{c}^{1}. κ^{'} decreases T_{c}^{1} significantly but has relatively little effect on T_{c}^{2}. Domain growth in the Nm phase exhibits the well-known Lifshitz-Allen-Cahn (LAC) law, L(t)∼t^{1/2} and the evolution is via annihilation of string defects. The system exhibits dynamical scaling that is also robust with respect to κ^{'}. We find that the Sm phase at the quench temperatures T (T>T_{c}^{1}→T<T_{c}^{2}) that we consider has SmB order with a hexatic arrangement of the LC molecules in the layers (SmB-H phase). Coarsening in this phase exhibits a striking two-timescale scenario: First, the LC molecules align and develop orientational order (or nematicity), followed by the emergence of the characteristic layering (or smecticity) along with the hexatic bond-orientational-order within the layers. Consequently, the growth follows the LAC law L(t)∼t^{1/2} at early times and then shows a sharp crossover to a slower growth regime at later times. Our observations strongly suggest that L(t)∼t^{1/4} in this regime. Interestingly, the correlation function shows dynamical scaling in both the regimes and the scaling function is universal. The dynamics is also robust with respect to changes in κ^{'}, but the smecticity is more pronounced at larger values. Further, the early-time dynamics is governed by string defects, while the late-time evolution is dictated by interfacial defects. We believe this scenario is generic to the Sm phase even with other kinds of local order within the Sm layers.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nishant Birdi
- School of Interdisciplinary Research, Indian Institute of Technology, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016, India
| | - Tom L Underwood
- Department of Chemistry, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, United Kingdom
| | - Nigel B Wilding
- H. H. Wills Physics Laboratory, University of Bristol, Royal Fort, Bristol BS8 1TL, United Kingdom
| | - Sanjay Puri
- School of Physical Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India
| | - Varsha Banerjee
- School of Interdisciplinary Research, Indian Institute of Technology, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016, India
- Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016, India
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Kalita P, Singh RK, Bhattacharjee A. Thermotropic liquid crystals in the detection of albumins through a microscopic, spectroscopic and computational approach. SPECTROCHIMICA ACTA. PART A, MOLECULAR AND BIOMOLECULAR SPECTROSCOPY 2022; 265:120374. [PMID: 34536891 DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2021.120374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2021] [Revised: 08/26/2021] [Accepted: 09/04/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Liquid crystals (LCs) are a promising system of molecules for biosensing as a transducing agent for detecting protein human serum albumin (HSA). Herein, we investigate the detection of HSA by a liquid crystal 4'-octyl-4-biphenylcarbonitrile (8CB) intending to develop an LC-based biosensor. The change in the alignment of liquid crystal molecules in the presence of protein results in the transfigurations of the director through interactions. The limit of 8CB to detect HSA is found to be at a reliable concentration in the development of biosensors. The transition in the director configurations from radial to bipolar during the crystalline to the isotropic phase of the liquid crystals are studied under polarizing optical microscopy. These transitions confirm the detection of HSA by 8CB. The docking analysis depicts the interactions by which 8CB liquid crystal molecules bind with protein HSA. The binding energy, binding active residues and their distances between the docked residues of HSA and molecules of ligand 8CB are calculated by molecular docking. Temperature-dependent Raman spectroscopy is used to analyse the spectral behaviour of the interactions. The residues validated by molecular docking studies correlate well with the findings of Raman spectra for the interaction between 8CB and HSA.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Priyanki Kalita
- Department of Physics, National Institute of Technology Meghalaya, Shillong 793003, India
| | - Ranjan K Singh
- Department of Physics, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh 221005, India
| | - Ayon Bhattacharjee
- Department of Physics, National Institute of Technology Meghalaya, Shillong 793003, India.
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Cao X, Li W, Li J, Zou L, Liu X, Ren X, Yu Z. Controlling the Balance of Photoluminescence and Photothermal Effect in
Cyanostilbene‐Based
Luminescent Liquid Crystals. CHINESE J CHEM 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/cjoc.202100751] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Xiang‐Jian Cao
- School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering Tianjin University Tianjin 300350 China
- College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Institute of Low‐dimensional Materials Genome Initiative Shenzhen University Shenzhen 518071 China
| | - Wei Li
- College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Institute of Low‐dimensional Materials Genome Initiative Shenzhen University Shenzhen 518071 China
| | - Jiahua Li
- College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Institute of Low‐dimensional Materials Genome Initiative Shenzhen University Shenzhen 518071 China
| | - Lin Zou
- College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Institute of Low‐dimensional Materials Genome Initiative Shenzhen University Shenzhen 518071 China
| | - Xing‐Wang Liu
- College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Institute of Low‐dimensional Materials Genome Initiative Shenzhen University Shenzhen 518071 China
| | - Xiang‐Kui Ren
- School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering Tianjin University Tianjin 300350 China
| | - Zhen‐Qiang Yu
- College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Institute of Low‐dimensional Materials Genome Initiative Shenzhen University Shenzhen 518071 China
| |
Collapse
|