Premium
Chiral Isotropic Sponge Phase of Hexatic Smectic Layers of Achiral Molecules
Author(s) -
Chen Dong,
Shen Yongqiang,
Aguero Jose,
Korblova Eva,
Walba David M.,
Kapernaum Nadia,
Giesselmann Frank,
Watanabe Junji,
Maclennan Joseph E.,
Glaser Matthew A.,
Clark Noel A.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
chemphyschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.016
H-Index - 140
eISSN - 1439-7641
pISSN - 1439-4235
DOI - 10.1002/cphc.201300912
Subject(s) - lyotropic , phase (matter) , liquid crystal , isotropy , materials science , bent molecular geometry , crystallography , lyotropic liquid crystal , phase transition , condensed matter physics , chemical physics , chemistry , optics , liquid crystalline , organic chemistry , composite material , physics , optoelectronics
Smectic layers of tilted, bent‐core liquid crystals have a tendency to exhibit spontaneous saddle‐splay curvature, a mechanical response that relieves the internal strain of the layers. When this tendency is strong enough, the smectic layers form complex, equilibrium, non‐planar structures such as the helical nanofilaments in the B4 phase and the disordered focal conics in the chiral dark conglomerate (DC) phase. The DC phase is usually observed on cooling directly from the isotropic phase, with the disordered focal conics analogous to the disordered sponge phase found in lyotropic systems. We report a DC phase observed below a B2 phase that is stable down to room temperature. In mixtures with the calamitic liquid crystal 8CB, the low‐temperature DC phase forms a more ordered, bicontinuous structure, resembling the cubic phase observed in the lyotropic systems, which is attributed to the enhanced intralayer ordering of the bent‐core molecules in the mixtures.