Article
Chemistry, Physical
Martin Cigl, Natalia Podoliak, Tomas Landovsky, Dalibor Repcek, Petr Kuzel, Vladimira Novotna
Summary: Since the recent discoveries, ferroelectric nematics have attracted great interest due to their remarkable ferroelectric properties. In this study, we synthesized a series of polar molecules that exhibit a ferroelectric nematic phase (NF) with a very high dielectric constant (>104). By optimizing a new motif that differs from previously reported molecular structures, we successfully stabilized the NF phase. The ferroelectric behavior of these materials was investigated using various techniques, confirming their potential applications in energy-efficient memory devices or capacitors.
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR LIQUIDS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Prabir K. Mukherjee
Summary: The experimental results demonstrated the significant impact of ferromagnetic nanoparticles on the smectic-A to chiral smectic-C phase transition, with discussions on various properties near the transition. Both qualitative and quantitative agreement between experiments and theory were observed, based on the thermodynamic description presented in this study.
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR LIQUIDS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Prabir K. Mukherjee
Summary: The effects of ferroelectric nanoparticles on the SmA-SmC* phase transition were studied theoretically, showing a qualitative agreement between experimental and theoretical results.
Review
Chemistry, Physical
Evgeny P. Pozhidaev, Sofia I. Torgova, Vadim A. Barbashov
Summary: The origin of ferroelectricity in smectic liquid crystals is attributed to the chirality of their molecules. The chirality leads to the helical structure of molecular axes, which can undergo deformations under electric fields and result in specific electro-optical effects. These effects have been utilized in the development of next-generation displays and photonic devices.
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR LIQUIDS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ewan Cruickshank, Rebecca Walker, John M. D. Storey, Corrie T. Imrie
Summary: This article reports the synthesis and characterization of two series of low molar mass liquid crystals in order to investigate the influence of a lateral alkyloxy chain on the formation and stability of ferroelectric nematic phase. The two series differ by the addition of a fluorine substituent. The members of both series exhibit different phase transitions depending on the length of the lateral chain, with a reduction in nematic-isotropic transition temperature and an increase in ferroelectric nematic-nematic or isotropic transition temperature observed as the chain length increases. These findings suggest that the lateral alkyloxy chain adopts specific conformations that affect the mesophase behavior.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Federico Caimi, Giovanni Nava, Raouf Barboza, Noel A. Clark, Eva Korblova, David M. Walba, Tommaso Bellini, Liana Lucchetti
Summary: The article investigates the surface alignment of the ferroelectric nematic phase and finds specific behaviors and factors that affect the alignment, such as orientation, defects, and electric field response.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Hiroya Nishikawa, Motonobu Kuwayama, Atsuko Nihonyanagi, Barun Dhara, Fumito Araoka
Summary: Recently, the study of ferroelectric fluids has gained significant attention. In order to further understand the physical properties and develop practical applications, the preparation of various molecules is crucial. This study successfully synthesized a series of ferroelectric nematic liquid crystal molecules using mechanochemical technology, and discovered a new phase transition phenomenon. The polarization memory of these molecules was also evaluated.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY C
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Hiroya Nishikawa, Motonobu Kuwayama, Atsuko Nihonyanagi, Barun Dhara, Fumito Araoka
Summary: In this study, a mechanochemical technique was used to synthesize molecular building blocks for ferroelectric fluids. The researchers discovered a direct phase transition in a new variant of the fluid and evaluated its polarization memory. This study highlights the significant impact of mechanochemical technology on the synthesis of liquid crystalline molecules.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY C
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Stefano Marni, Giovanni Nava, Raouf Barboza, Tommaso Giovanni Bellini, Liana Lucchetti
Summary: The motion of ferroelectric liquid sessile droplets deposited on a ferroelectric lithium niobate substrate can be controlled by a light beam of moderate intensity. The droplets are attracted or repelled depending on the side of the substrate exposed to light irradiation. Furthermore, moving the beam allows for long-distance movement of the droplets on the substrate, indicating the coupling between the droplet polarization and the polarization induced in the substrate.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Evangelia Zavvou, Melanie Klasen-Memmer, Atsutaka Manabe, Matthias Bremer, Alexey Eremin
Summary: Explored the polar and mechanical properties of a room-temperature ferroelectric nematic and found that it is less susceptible to splay deformation, which can be attributed to the electrostatic self-interaction of polarisation.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Dong-Dong Xu, Ru-Ru Ma, Ai-Ping Fu, Zhao Guan, Ni Zhong, Hui Peng, Ping-Hua Xiang, Chun-Gang Duan
Summary: This study demonstrates the reversible polarization switching in a van der Waals ferroelectric by controlling the ferroelectric-liquid interface structure. By inducing upward and downward polarization states through physical adsorption of organic ions at the ferroelectric-liquid interface, this approach offers opportunities for liquid-controlled two-dimensional ferroelectric-based devices with super-long retention time.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Richard J. Mandle, Nerea Sebastian, Josu Martinez-Perdiguero, Alenka Mertelj
Summary: The study shows that subtle changes in molecular structure can enable denser packing of molecules exhibiting polar order, indicating that the reduction of excluded volume is the origin of the polar nematic phase. Additionally, molecular dynamics simulations are identified as powerful tools for predicting, identifying, and designing materials with the polar nematic phase and its precursor phases.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Review
Physics, Condensed Matter
Ajay Kumar, Priyam, Harikesh Meena, Jai Prakash, Ling Wang, Gautam Singh
Summary: Ferroelectric liquid crystals (FLCs) have excellent electro-optical properties compared to nematic liquid crystals (LCs), and the dispersion of nanomaterials (NMs) in FLCs can further improve their electro-optical properties. Semiconducting nanomaterials (SNMs), in particular, have shown great potential in enhancing molecular alignment, dielectric behavior, memory effect, switching response, and photoluminescence in FLCs.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICS-CONDENSED MATTER
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Richard J. Mandle
Summary: The discovery of a new variant of the N-F phase with polar order and ferroelectricity is a significant milestone in soft matter research. The preparation of hydrogen-bonded complexes between 4-(2,4-dimethoxybenzoyloxy)benzoic acid and either 4-nitropyridine or 3-fluoro-4-nitropyridine is described, and the complexes exhibit classical and polar nematic phases. DFT calculations support the hypothesis that the onset of polar order is a result of subtle interactions between regions of opposing electrostatic potential, rather than solely dependent on the electric dipole moment.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Yaohao Song, Jinxing Li, Runli Xia, Hao Xu, Xinxin Zhang, Huanyu Lei, Weifeng Peng, Shuqi Dai, Satoshi Aya, Mingjun Huang
Summary: The emerging ferroelectric nematic liquid crystals have attracted broad interests for their unique material properties and the challenge of limited material choice. This work presents a design of novel ferroelectric nematic materials and confirms their characteristics through rigorous experiments.
PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Optics
Yi-Hsin Lin, Yu-Jen Wang, Guo-Lin Hu, Victor Reshetnyak
Summary: The study demonstrated a polarization-independent liquid crystal phase modulation based on the orthogonal nematic LC (OLC) mode, which does not require the use of a polarizer and provides a tunable optical phase of approximately 3.35 pi radians for different types of light. This novel LC mode technology may offer alternatives for upcoming optical applications, such as electrically tunable ophthalmic lenses and optical systems for augmented reality.
Article
Crystallography
Fabrizio Ciciulla, Annamaria Zaltron, Riccardo Zamboni, Cinzia Sada, Francesco Simoni, Victor Yu Reshetnyak, Liana Lucchetti
Summary: The study proposes a new configuration of the optofluidic platform utilizing liquid crystals reorientation in lithium niobate channels. By designing microchannels and performing simulations and experiments, thresholdless reorientation conditions were achieved and additional photo-induced fields were observed above a certain light intensity.
Editorial Material
Chemistry, Physical
Valeriy N. Boychuk
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR LIQUIDS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Ivan Yakovkin, Andrii Lesiuk, Mykhailo Ledney, Victor Reshetnyak
Summary: The orientational instability of a director in a planar flexoelectric nematic liquid crystal cell in a constant electric field perpendicular to the cell substrates is investigated. The influence of the initial surface orientation, liquid crystal, and electric field on the orientation of the easy axis on one of the polymer substrates is studied. The reorientation of the elastic parts of the polymer molecules of the substrate is due to the interaction of intrinsic or induced dipole moments with the electric field. The effect of the electric field on the surface free energy of the nematic is considered to be linear or quadratic. The temporal behavior of the director after voltage application and its return to the initial homogeneous state after switching off the voltage are studied. The characteristic turn-on/off times and the time of reaching the stationary state are calculated and their dependence on the system parameters is investigated. The transmittance of the nematic liquid crystal cell for normally incident light is also calculated.
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR LIQUIDS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
O. Kurochkin, K. Nazarenko, O. Tereshchenko, P. Golub, V Nazarenko
Summary: Chiral dopants with different lipophilicity were synthesized and their impact on the helical twisting power and thermal phase behavior of lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal (LCLC) was investigated. The study found that hydrophobic chiral molecules were more effective in twisting LCLC compared to hydrophilic ones.
Article
Optics
T. Dudok, I. Skab, O. Mys, O. Krupych, Yu A. Nastishin, O. Kurochkin, V. Nazarenko, Ye. Ryzhov, A. D. Chernenko, R. Vlokh
Summary: This work focuses on the optical singularities of laser beams passing through liquid-crystal cells with circular planar alignments. The study reveals the formation of optical defects at the topological defects and the optical patterns generated by the passage of light through the CC- and CH-cells.
UKRAINIAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OPTICS
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
O. Sova, T. J. Sluckin, S. Kaur, H. F. Gleeson, V. Reshetnyak
Summary: This paper constructs a theoretical model for the electronic liquid crystal contact lens for the correction of presbyopia. The study shows good agreement between theory and experimental data, although the precise parameters of the lens differ slightly from the original design. The model is useful for engineering optimization of the existing prototype.
OPTICAL MATERIALS EXPRESS
(2023)
Article
Crystallography
Svitlana P. Bielykh, Liana Lucchetti, Victor Yu. Reshetnyak
Summary: We proposed a theoretical model of a cylindrical tunable liquid crystal lens based on the modulation of anchoring energy. The model describes the dependence of the focal length on the applied voltage and presents a theoretical study of the lens aberrations. The results obtained are of general relevance and can be used to optimize the performances of every type of liquid crystal lens with a parabolic profile.
Article
Optics
Ivan Yakovkin, Victor Reshetnyak
Summary: This study investigates the tunability of plasmonic resonances in gold and silver nanosphere arrays embedded in a liquid crystal matrix. The results show that the optical properties of these arrays can be modulated by reorienting the liquid crystal, leading to a shift in the plasmonic resonance wavelength. Both gold and silver nanosphere arrays exhibit notable near-field amplification.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Kyung Min Lee, Victor Yu. Reshetnyak, Cedric P. P. Ambulo, Zachary M. M. Marsh, Michael E. E. McConney, Nicholas P. P. Godman
Summary: This study introduces a novel anti-counterfeiting material, holographic polymer stabilized liquid crystal gels (H-PSLC gels), which can switch optical colors and patterns under electric current. The optical properties of H-PSLC gels can be controlled by adjusting the magnitude and direction of the electric current.
MATERIALS ADVANCES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
V. Yu. Reshetnyak, I. P. Pinkevych, N. P. Godman, T. J. Bunning, D. R. Evans
Summary: The reflection spectrum of a hybrid structure, consisting of a metal film and a holographic grating made of polymer and liquid crystal layers, is investigated. An optical Tamm state (OTS) is formed in the region of the grating band gap, resulting in a narrow dip in the reflection spectrum. The parameters of the polymer and liquid crystal determine the spectral position of the dip, while the type and thickness of the metal affect its magnitude.
Article
Physics, Fluids & Plasmas
V. Yu. Reshetnyak, I. P. Pinkevych, T. J. Bunning, M. E. McConney, D. R. Evans
Summary: Theoretical study is conducted on the reflection spectrum of linearly polarized light by a system composed of a metal film and two adjacent cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs) with opposite helical twists. The system includes a dielectric index-matching layer (DIML) between the metal film and the CLC layers. It is found that optical Tamm states (OTSs) can be excited by linearly polarized light in such a system. The influence of CLC pitch, refractive indices, and thicknesses of DIML and metal film on the manifestation of OTSs in the reflection spectrum is examined, and the strong influence of DIML thickness on OTS wavelength and the appearance of multiple OTSs with increasing DIML thickness are observed.
Article
Physics, Fluids & Plasmas
A. I. Lesiuk, M. F. Ledney, V. Yu. Reshetnyak
Summary: The paper presents a theoretical description of light-induced nematic liquid crystal reorientation in a cell with gold nanoparticles deposited on one of the bounding substrates. The study shows that the surface plasmon resonance in the nanoparticles significantly affects the threshold of director reorientation. A mathematical model of surface free-energy density is given, considering the influence of the local electric field on the near-surface nematic layer at the substrate with gold nanoparticles. The calculated threshold intensity of director orientation instability and its dependence on the wavelength of incident light and the degree of filling of the surface with gold nanoparticles are analysed. The comparison of theoretical calculations with experimental data confirms the full adequacy of the proposed theoretical model.
Article
Physics, Fluids & Plasmas
Chia -Ming Chang, Yi-Hsin Lin, Victor Reshetnyak
Summary: The way water condenses on surfaces is crucial for the energy efficiency of heat transfer systems. Controlled manipulation of water condensation on tunable surfaces has potential applications in various fields and offers promising prospects for development.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Anna N. Morozovska, Riccardo Hertel, Salia Cherifi-Hertel, Victor Yu. Reshetnyak, Eugene A. Eliseev, Dean R. Evans
Summary: Polar chiral structures have attracted significant interest recently for their potential in innovative device concepts. This study focuses on ferroelectric nanoparticles and introduces the flexon polarization configuration, showing its potential flexibility and the critical influence of flexoelectric coupling. The findings suggest similarities with chiral structures in magnetism and highlight the importance of the flexoelectric effect in stabilizing chiral states.
