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Emergent biaxiality in chiral hybrid liquid crystals

Author

Listed:
  • Jin-Sheng Wu

    (University of Colorado)

  • Marina Torres Lázaro

    (Université Paris-Saclay & CNRS)

  • Haridas Mundoor

    (University of Colorado)

  • Henricus H. Wensink

    (Université Paris-Saclay & CNRS)

  • Ivan I. Smalyukh

    (University of Colorado
    Hiroshima University
    University of Colorado
    National Renewable Energy Laboratory and University of Colorado)

Abstract

Biaxial nematic liquid crystals are fascinating systems sometimes referred to as the Higgs boson of soft matter because of experimental observation challenges. Here we describe unexpected states of matter that feature biaxial orientational order of colloidal supercritical fluids and gases formed by sparse rodlike particles. Colloidal rods with perpendicular surface boundary conditions exhibit a strong biaxial symmetry breaking when doped into conventional chiral nematic fluids. Minimization of free energy prompts these particles to orient perpendicular to the local molecular director and the helical axis, thereby imparting biaxiality on the hybrid molecular-colloidal system. The ensuing phase diagram features colloidal gas and liquid and supercritical colloidal fluid states with long-range biaxial orientational symmetry, as supported by analytical and numerical modeling at all hierarchical levels of ordering. Unlike for nonchiral hybrid systems, dispersions in chiral nematic hosts display biaxial orientational order at vanishing colloid volume fractions, promising both technological and fundamental research utility.

Suggested Citation

  • Jin-Sheng Wu & Marina Torres Lázaro & Haridas Mundoor & Henricus H. Wensink & Ivan I. Smalyukh, 2024. "Emergent biaxiality in chiral hybrid liquid crystals," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-17, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:15:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-024-54236-8
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-54236-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ramakrishna Kotni & Albert Grau-Carbonell & Massimiliano Chiappini & Marjolein Dijkstra & Alfons Blaaderen, 2022. "Splay-bend nematic phases of bent colloidal silica rods induced by polydispersity," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, December.
    2. Simone Dussi & Marjolein Dijkstra, 2016. "Entropy-driven formation of chiral nematic phases by computer simulations," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 7(1), pages 1-10, September.
    3. Ye Zhou & Bohdan Senyuk & Rui Zhang & Ivan I. Smalyukh & Juan J. de Pablo, 2019. "Degenerate conic anchoring and colloidal elastic dipole-hexadecapole transformations," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 10(1), pages 1-8, December.
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