Indication of a twist-grain-boundary-twist-bend phase of flexible core bent-shape chiral dimers

Matthew T. Murachver; Ahlam Nemati; Mirosław Salamończyk; Carson Bullock; Zachary Sabata; Haumed Rahmani; Tetiana Vorobiova; Alain Izadnegahdar; Seyyed Muhammad Salili; Victoria Norman; Chenhui Zhu; Torsten Hegmann; Samuel N. Sprunt; James T. Gleeson; Antal I. Jakli

doi:10.1039/C8SM02338G

Indication of a twist-grain-boundary-twist-bend phase of flexible core bent-shape chiral dimers†

Matthew T. Murachver,^a Ahlam Nemati,^a Mirosław Salamończyk,

‡^ab Carson Bullock,^ac Zachary Sabata,^ade Haumed Rahmani,^a Tetiana Vorobiova,^a Alain Izadnegahdar,^f Seyyed Muhammad Salili,^ag Victoria Norman,

^b Chenhui Zhu,^b Torsten Hegmann,

^ah Samuel N. Sprunt,ⁱ James T. Gleesonⁱ and Antal I. Jakli

*^ai

Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

^a Chemical Physics Interdisciplinary Program & Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA
E-mail: ajakli@kent.edu

^b Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA

^c Department of Physics, College of Wooster, Wooster, OH 44691, USA

^d Department of Physics, University of Nebraska, Omaha, NE 68182, USA

^e Department of Chemistry, University of Nebraska, Omaha, NE 68182, USA

^f Advanced Precision Systems, Inc., Chagrin Falls, OH, USA

^g Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA

^h Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA

ⁱ Department of Physics, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA

Abstract

The effect of the molecular chirality of chiral additives on the nanostructure of the twist-bend nematic (N_TB) liquid crystal phase with ambidextrous chirality and nanoscale pitch due to spontaneous symmetry breaking is studied. It is found that the ambidextrous nanoscale pitch of the N_TB phase increases by 50% due to 3% chiral additive, and the chiral transfer among the biphenyl groups disappears in the N_TB* phase. Most significantly, a twist-grain boundary (TGB) type phase is found at c > 1.5 wt% chiral additive concentrations below the usual N* phase and above the non-CD active N_TB* phase. In such a TGB type phase, the adjacent blocks of pseudo-layers of the nanoscale pitch rotate across the grain boundaries.

Soft Matter

Indication of a twist-grain-boundary-twist-bend phase of flexible core bent-shape chiral dimers†

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Indication of a twist-grain-boundary-twist-bend phase of flexible core bent-shape chiral dimers

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