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Chirality of Liquid Crystals Formed from Achiral Molecules Revealed by Resonant X‐Ray Scattering
Author(s) -
Lewandowski Wiktor,
Vaupotič Nataša,
Pociecha Damian,
Górecka Ewa,
LizMarzán Luis M.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/adma.201905591
Subject(s) - chirality (physics) , materials science , liquid crystal , chemical physics , molecule , nanotechnology , scattering , liquid crystalline , scope (computer science) , chiral symmetry , organic chemistry , optics , chemistry , physics , optoelectronics , computer science , quantum mechanics , nambu–jona lasinio model , programming language , quark
Intensive research on chiral liquid crystals (LCs) has been fueled by their actively tunable physicochemical properties and structural complexity, comparable to those of sophisticated natural materials. Herein, recent progress in the discovery of new classes of chiral LCs, enabled by a combination of nano‐ and macroscale investigations is reviewed. First, an overview is provided of liquid crystalline phases, made of chiral and achiral low‐weight molecules, that exhibit chiral structure and/or chiral morphology. Then, recent progress in the discovery of new classes of chiral LCs, particularly enabled by the application of resonant X‐ray scattering is described. It is shown that the method is sensitive to modulations of molecular orientation and therefore provides information hardly accessible by means of other techniques, such as the sense of helical structures or chirality transfer across length scales. Finally, a perspective is presented on the future scope, opportunities, and challenges in the field of chiral LCs, in particular related to nanocomposites.