Formation of periodic zigzag patterns in the twist-bend nematic liquid crystal phase by surface treatment
Zigzag patterns were successfully generated in the twist-bend nematic (N TB ) phase of 1-(4-cyanobiphenyl-4′-yl)-6-(4-cyanobiphenyl-4′-yloxy)hexane (CB6OCB) via simple surface treatment. A detailed microscopy study using polarised optical microscopy and fluorescence confocal polarising microscopy wa...
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Published in | Liquid crystals Vol. 44; no. 1; pp. 168 - 176 |
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Main Authors | , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Abingdon
Taylor & Francis
02.01.2017
Taylor & Francis Ltd |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Zigzag patterns were successfully generated in the twist-bend nematic (N
TB
) phase of 1-(4-cyanobiphenyl-4′-yl)-6-(4-cyanobiphenyl-4′-yloxy)hexane (CB6OCB) via simple surface treatment. A detailed microscopy study using polarised optical microscopy and fluorescence confocal polarising microscopy was performed to observe the director arrangement in the zigzags, where distinctive periodic patterns were found to be aligned perpendicular to the rubbing direction. These patterns originate from the structural instability and generation of splay deformation with focal conic domain-like structures that are typically found in smectic phases, revealing that the N
TB
phase has physical properties similar to those of the smectic phase. Observation of these unusual zigzag patterns in the N
TB
phase opens an avenue for use of this phase in potential applications such as optical modulators and gratings. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0267-8292 1366-5855 |
DOI: | 10.1080/02678292.2016.1274283 |