Liquid crystals are intriguing electrically responsive soft matter systems. We report previously unexplored field-induced changes in the structures of some frustrated liquid crystal phases and describe them theoretically. Specifically, we have discovered using resonant x-ray scattering that the four-layer intermediate smectic phase can undergo either a transition to the ferrielectric (three-layer) phase or to the ferroelectric phase, depending on temperature. Our studies of intermediate phases using electric fields offer a way to test theories that describe ferroelectricity in self-assembling fluids.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.77.010701 | DOI Listing |
Sci Adv
January 2025
School of Chemical Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan, Republic of Korea.
The development of fibrous actuators with diverse actuation modes is expected to accelerate progress in active textiles, robotics, wearable electronics, and haptics. Despite the advances in responsive polymer-based actuating fibers, the available actuation modes are limited by the exclusive reliance of current technologies on thermotropic contraction along the fiber axis. To address this gap, the present study describes a reversible and spontaneous thermotropic elongation (~30%) in liquid crystal elastomer fibers produced via ultraviolet-assisted melt spinning.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChemistry
January 2025
Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1, ICBMS, Bâtiment Lederer, 1 Rue Victor Grignard, F-69622, Villeurbanne, FRANCE.
In this article we describe research on the synthesis and characterization of a family of "Janus" amphiphiles composed of disaccharide head groups and alkaloid units joined together via a methylene linker, and bearing a lateral aliphatic chain of varying length. The condensed phases formed by self-organization of the products as a function of temperature were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry, thermal polarized light microscopy, and small angle X-ray scattering, allied with computational modelling and simulations. Structural studies on heating specimens from the solid showed that some homologues exhibited lamellar, columnar and bicontinuous mesophases, whereas the same homologues revealed different phase sequences on cooling from the amorphous liquid.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChemistry
January 2025
Universitat Bielefeld, Chemie, Universitätsstraße 15, 33615, Bielefeld, GERMANY.
This work combines halogen and chalcogen bonding. Short, polarity directed C-X⋅⋅⋅Ch (X = Br or I, Ch = Se or Te) contacts were prepared by in situ low-temperature cocrystallization of liquid mixtures of neutral pentafluorohalogenobenzenes C6F5X and dimethyl chalco-genides Me2Ch. Solid-state structures of Me2Se and Me2Te were determined 150 and 125 years after their first description.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMetab Brain Dis
January 2025
Florey Institute of Neuroscience & Mental Health, Parkville, VIC, Australia.
Substance use disorders (SUDs) pose a significant global health challenge, with relapse being a major obstacle in achieving successful treatment outcomes. In recent years, drug delivery strategies have emerged as promising tools to improve treatment efficacy and patient compliance in the context of SUD. Here we explore a diverse range of drug delivery strategies that have been investigated for addressing relapse behavior in SUD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicrosyst Nanoeng
January 2025
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Chonnam National University, 50 Daehak-ro, Yeosu-si, Jeollanam-do, 59626, Republic of Korea.
Developing a portable yet affordable method for the discrimination of chemical substances with good sensitivity and selectivity is essential for on-site visual detection of unknown substances. Herein, we propose an optofluidic paper-based analytical device (PAD) that consists of a macromolecule-driven flow (MDF) gate and photonic crystal (PhC) coding units, enabling portable and scalable detection and discrimination of various organic chemical, mimicking the olfactory system. The MDF gate is designed for precise flow control of liquid analytes, which depends on intermolecular interactions between the polymer at the MDF gate and the liquid analytes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!