Nematic–nematic transitions in a highly polar nematic compound are studied, in thick cells in which the molecules are aligned parallel to the substrates but perpendicular to the applied electric field, using dielectric spectroscopy in the frequ...
Intense electric fields applied to an asymmetric π-cell containing a nematic liquid crystal subjected to strong mechanical stresses induce distortions that are relaxed through a fast-switching mechanism: the order reconstruction transition. Topolo...
Recently, two new polymorphs have been added to the nematic class: the polar-twisted nematic (NPT) in 2016 and the ferroelectric nematic (NF) in 2020. Comprised of achiral molecules, both exhibit local polar ordering and adopt modulated structures, r...
Lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals (LCLCs) are a special type of hierarchical material in which self-assembled molecular aggregates are responsible for the formation of liquid crystal phases. Thanks to its unusual material properties and bio compati...
Liquid crystals have attracted enormous interest because of the variety of their phases and richness of their application. The interplay of general physical symmetries and specific molecular features generates a myriad of different phenomena. A surpr...
A simple and efficient approach to spatially addressed polychromatic modulation of light polarization using a photopatterned nematic liquid crystal film is proposed and investigated. In particular, we demonstrate linear polarization structuring of th...
In this study, the free energies and specific heats of the nematic liquid crystals are studied within Tsallis thermostatistics. In equilibrium, free energy of PAA (para-azoxyanisole) vs the order parameter is plotted, as well as its the specific heat...
A pressure gradient caused by the local field-induced reduction of the effective molecular volume results in a flow of the nematic liquid crystal (NLC). Here, the hydrodynamics of homeotropically aligned NLC molecules under the influence of this pres...
Liquid crystals act on the amplitude and the phase of a wave front under applied electric fields. Ordinary LCs are known as field induced birefringence, thus both phase and amplitude modulation strongly depend on the voltage controllable molecular ti...
We present a thermodynamically consistent energetic variational model for active nematics driven by ATP hydrolysis. Extending the classical Toner–Tu framework, we introduce a chemo-mechanical coupling mechanism in which the self-advection and p...
The nature of the nanoscale structural organization in modulated nematic phases formed by molecules having a nonlinear molecular architecture is a central issue in contemporary liquid crystal research. Nevertheless, the elucidation of the molecular o...
Nematic phases are some of the most common phases among the lyotropic liquid crystalline structures. They have been widely investigated during last decades. In early studies, two uniaxial nematic phases (discotic, ND, and calamitic, NC) were identifi...
The second, lower-temperature nematic phase observed in nonlinear dimer liquid crystals has properties originating from nanoscale, polar, intermolecular packing preferences. It fits the description of a new liquid crystal phase discovered by Vanakara...
We study in this paper the dynamics of molecules leading to the formation of nematic and smectic phases using a mobile 6-state Potts spin model with Monte Carlo simulation. Each Potts state represents a molecular orientation. We show that, with the c...
The ferroelectric nematic (NF) phase, characterised by the combination of orientational and polar order, offers unique properties that are challenging to replicate in other systems. Understanding the molecular structure requirements for generating th...
We numerically and analytically study the flow and nematic order parameter profiles in a microfluidic channel, within the Beris–Edwards theory for nematodynamics, with two different types of boundary conditions—strong anchoring/Dirichlet...
We report molecular dynamics simulations of confined liquid crystals using the Gay–Berne–Kihara model. Upon isobaric cooling, the standard sequence of isotropic–nematic–smectic A phase transitions is found. Upon further cooling a reentrant nematic ph...
In this brief review, we give an introduction to selected colloidal and microfluidic nematic microstructures, as enabled by the inherent anisotropy and microscopic orientational ordering in complex liquid crystalline materials. We give a brief overvi...
The construction of liquid crystal compositions consisting of the dimeric liquid crystal, CB_C9_CB (cyanobiphenyl dimer = 1'',9''-bis(4-cyanobiphenyl-4'-yl)nonane), and the range of nematic systems is explored. The materials include a laterally funct...
New fluid states of matter, now known as liquid crystals, were discovered at the end of the 19th century and still provide strong themes in scientific research. The applications of liquid crystals continue to attract attention, and the most successfu...
Nematic twist-bend phases (NTB) are new types of nematic liquid crystalline phases with attractive properties for future electro-optic applications. However, most of these states are monotropic or are stable only in a narrow high temperature range. T...
Mixtures of semiflexible polymers with a mismatch in either their persistence lengths or their contour lengths are studied by Density Functional Theory and Molecular Dynamics simulation. Considering lyotropic solutions under good solvent conditions,...
We present a comparative study of the optical and dielectric anisotropy of a laterally fluorinated liquid crystal dimer and its homologous trimer, both exhibiting two nematic phases. In the high-temperature nematic phase, both oligomers exhibit posit...
This work reviews the recent progress made in last decade in understanding the role of dispersion of nanoparticles and quantum dots into host nematic liquid crystals. There are two important ingredients of this work: Even a minute concentration of th...
In La2-xSrxCuO4 (LSCO), a prototype high-temperature superconductor (HTS) cuprate, a nonzero transverse voltage is observed in zero magnetic fields. This is important since it points to the breaking of the rotational symmetry in the electron fluid, t...
The structure of optical dispersive shock waves in nematic liquid crystals is investigated as the power of the optical beam is varied, with six regimes identified, which complements previous work pertinent to low power beams only. It is found that th...
Generalized Janus nematic colloids based on various morphologies of particle surface patches imposing homeotropic and planar surface anchoring are demonstrated. By using mesoscopic numerical modeling, multiple types of Janus particles are explored, d...
We theoretically study the generic mechanisms that could establish critical behavior in nematic liquid crystals (NLCs). The corresponding free energy density terms should exhibit linear coupling with the nematic order parameter and, via this coupling...
Nematic elastomer balloons with inflation-induced axial contraction and shear/torsion effect can be used as actuators for soft robots, artificial muscles, and biomedical instruments. The nematic elastomer can also generate drastic shape changes under...
We use a simple statistical model to investigate the effects of an applied magnetic field and of the dilution of site elements on the phase diagrams of biaxial nematic systems, with an emphasis on the stability of the Landau multicritical point. The...
Nematic superconductivity is a novel class of superconductivity characterized by spontaneous rotational-symmetry breaking in the superconducting gap amplitude and/or Cooper-pair spins with respect to the underlying lattice symmetry. Doped Bi
Chiral nematic materials have been attracting attention in fields of advanced functional applications due to their unique iridescent colors and tunable helical structure. A precisely decreased pitch is of importance for construction and applications...
Stabilized reverse twisted nematic liquid crystal devices (RTN-LCDs) were fabricated using formation of a polymer matrix under UV irradiation with an applied voltage (sustain voltage) in the vicinity of the alignment layers. In the absence of an appl...
We numerically studied localized elastic distortions in curved, effectively two-dimensional nematic shells. We used a mesoscopic Landau-de Gennes-type approach, in which the orientational order is theoretically considered by introducing the appropria...
In the past decade, much evidence has been provided for an unusually low cost for bend deformations in the nematic phase of bent-core mesogens and bimesogens (liquid crystal dimers) having a bent shape on average. Recently, an analogous effect was ob...
We revisit the wetting of nematic liquid crystals in contact with crenellated substrates, studied previously using the Landau–de Gennes formalism. However, due to computational limitations, the characteristic length scales of the substrate reli...
Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) have been extensively studied for their ability to maintain liquid crystal (LC) order within solid films, providing a robust template for the self-assembly of plasmonic nanorods (NRs) and the construction of nanostructur...
Colloidal particles in nematic liquid crystals show a beautiful variety of complex phenomena with promising applications. Their dynamical behaviour is determined by topology and interactions with the liquid crystal and external fields. Here, a nemati...
In this article, we employed the saturation voltage method (SVM) to investigate the interaction between a nematic liquid crystal (NLC) and a graphene oxide (GO) substrate. The SVM approach involved applying a potential difference (ΔV) to the ce...
Fluorescent liquid crystals (LCs) have attracted considerable interest owing to their unique combination of fluidity, anisotropy, and intrinsic emission. However, most reported fluorescent LCs exhibit high phase transition temperatures and/or smectic...
We conduct extensive Monte Carlo simulations to investigate the factors that control the isotropic-to-nematic transition of hard colloidal polymers in bulk and under various conditions of confinement. Utilizing a highly idealized model, polymers are...
One unique property of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) is their property of forming suspensions with chiral nematic order. This order can be preserved in films cast from the suspensions, raising the possibility of applications as photonic materials and...
A small quantity of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) flakes is doped into a nematic liquid crystal (LC). The epitaxial interaction between the LC molecules and the h-BN flakes rising from the π−π electron stacking between the LC’s ben...
Liquid crystal elastomers are attractive materials featuring promising applications in emerging technologies, but their structure–property relationship has yet to be thoroughly explored. Some mechanical properties of these materials are the foc...
The discovery of the twist-bend nematic phase (NTB) is a milestone within the field of liquid crystals. The NTB phase has a helical structure, with a repeat length of a few nanometres, and is therefore chiral, even when formed by achiral molecules. T...
The twist-bend nematic phase (NTB) exhibits a complicated hierarchy of structures responsible for several intriguing properties presented here. These are: the observation of a fast electrooptic response, the exhibition of a large electroclinic effect...
We report on the preparation and characterization of a new family of hydrogen-bonded nematogenic liquid crystalline dimers. The dimers are supramolecular complexes that consist of a benzoic acid derivative, acting as the proton donor, featuring a spa...
In this paper, broadband Spectral Domain Interferometry provides single-shot optical characterization of dispersive thermotropic nematic liquid crystals. The proposed experimental setup enables measuring the chromatic dispersion, the extended Cauchy...
New seven-ring systems of dipyridine derivative liquid crystalline 2:1 supramolecular H-bonded complexes were formed between 4-n-alkoxyphenylazo benzoic acids and 4-(2-(pyridin-4-yl)diazenyl)phenyl nicotinate. Mesomorphic behaviors of the prepared co...
Polymerization shrinkage and associated stresses are the main reasons for dental restorative failure. We developed a series of liquid crystal diacrylates and dimethacrylates which have markedly low polymerization shrinkage. In order to fully understa...
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