title: Electric-field-driven deracemization.
abstract: We demonstrate, both theoretically and experimentally, that it is possible to use an electric field to drive the formation of macroscopic chiral (conglomerate) domains from an initially homogeneous fluid racemate. Field-induced segregation is exhibited in a fluid smectic liquid-crystal phase of a racemic mesogen, wherein enantiomerically-enriched domains are readily identifiable by their chiral electro-optical response. The sharp field-generated boundaries that form between opposite-handed domains broaden by diffusion in the absence of field, but reform rapidly if the field is switched on again, providing unambiguous evidence for the field-driven physical separation of enantiomers. A mean-field model successfully describes the steady-state and the dynamic evolution of conglomerate formation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kane
authors.forename: Ren-Fan
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Shao
authors.forename: Joseph E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Maclennan
authors.forename: Lixing
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Walba
authors.forename: Noel A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Clark