Twist-bend heliconical chiral nematic liquid crystal phase of an achiral rigid bent-core mesogen

Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys. 2014 Feb;89(2):022506. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.89.022506. Epub 2014 Feb 18.

Abstract

The chiral, heliconical (twist-bend) nematic ground state is reported in an achiral, rigid, bent-core mesogen (UD68). Similar to the nematic twist-bend (N(TB)) phase observed in bent molecular dimers, the N(TB) phase of UD68 forms macroscopic, smecticlike focal-conic textures and exhibits nanoscale, periodic modulation with no associated modulation of the electron density, i.e., without a detectable lamellar x-ray reflection peak. The N(TB) helical pitch is p(TB) ∼ 14 nm. When an electric field is applied normal to the helix axis, a weak electroclinic effect is observed, revealing 50-μm-scale left- and right-handed domains in a chiral conglomerate.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Computer Simulation
  • Isomerism
  • Liquid Crystals / chemistry*
  • Materials Testing
  • Models, Chemical*
  • Models, Molecular*
  • Molecular Conformation
  • Phase Transition