AI Article Synopsis
- Chiral nematic liquid crystals can form blue phases, which are unique liquid states featuring cubic arrangements of defects, but they often exist as polycrystalline structures that limit their effectiveness.
- A new method involves using nano-patterned substrates to create stable, large-scale single-crystal blue-phase materials with controlled lattice orientations.
- Successful experiments proved this technique can produce single-crystal blue phases, potentially enhancing their electro-optical properties by eliminating grain boundaries that hinder performance.
Article Abstract
Chiral nematic liquid crystals are known to form blue phases-liquid states of matter that exhibit ordered cubic arrangements of topological defects. Blue-phase specimens, however, are generally polycrystalline, consisting of randomly oriented domains that limit their performance in applications. A strategy that relies on nano-patterned substrates is presented here for preparation of stable, macroscopic single-crystal blue-phase materials. Different template designs are conceived to exert control over different planes of the blue-phase lattice orientation with respect to the underlying substrate. Experiments are then used to demonstrate that it is indeed possible to create stable single-crystal blue-phase domains with the desired orientation over large regions. These results provide a potential avenue to fully exploit the electro-optical properties of blue phases, which have been hindered by the existence of grain boundaries.
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| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5481765 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms15854 | DOI Listing |
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Article Synopsis
- Chiral nematic liquid crystals can form blue phases, which are unique liquid states featuring cubic arrangements of defects, but they often exist as polycrystalline structures that limit their effectiveness.
- A new method involves using nano-patterned substrates to create stable, large-scale single-crystal blue-phase materials with controlled lattice orientations.
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