Optical activity produced by layer chirality in bent-core liquid crystals

Large optical activity has recently been observed in chiral smectic liquid crystalline phases formed from achiral bent-core molecules. The origin of the optical activity remains unclear and has been attributed to both a helical superstructure and the layer chirality produced by simultaneous tilt and...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inPhysical review letters Vol. 98; no. 3; p. 037802
Main Authors Hough, Loren E, Zhu, Chenhui, Nakata, Michi, Chattham, Nattaporn, Dantlgraber, Gert, Tschierske, Carsten, Clark, Noel A
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 19.01.2007
Subjects
Liquid Crystals - chemistry
Optics and Photonics
Stereoisomerism
Online AccessGet more information

Cover

More Information
Summary:Large optical activity has recently been observed in chiral smectic liquid crystalline phases formed from achiral bent-core molecules. The origin of the optical activity remains unclear and has been attributed to both a helical superstructure and the layer chirality produced by simultaneous tilt and polar ordering of bent-core mesogens in the B2 phase. Here, we directly demonstrate that layer chirality produces optical activity in the well ordered SmC(A)P(A) subphase.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/physrevlett.98.037802