Spontaneous formation of macroscopic chiral domains in a fluid smectic phase of achiral molecules
A smectic liquid-crystal phase made from achiral molecules with bent cores was found to have fluid layers that exhibit two spontaneous symmetry-breaking instabilities: polar molecular orientational ordering about the layer normal and molecular tilt. These instabilities combine to form a chiral layer structure with a handedness that depends on the sign of the tilt. The bulk states are either antiferroelectric-racemic, with the layer polar direction and handedness alternating in sign from layer to layer, or antiferroelectric-chiral, which is of uniform layer handedness. Both states exhibit an electric field-induced transition from antiferroelectric to ferroelectric.
Link
DR
D. R. Link, G. Natale, R. Shao, J. E. Maclennan, N. A. Clark, Department of Physics, Condensed Matter Laboratory, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA. E. Korblova and D. M. Walba, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Univ.
Natale
G
Shao
R
Maclennan
JE
Clark
NA
Korblova
E
Walba
DM