title: Nucleation and growth of a helical nanofilament (B4) liquid-crystal phase confined in nanobowls.
abstract: The B4 helical nanofilament (HNF) liquid crystal (LC) phase is a three-dimensional (3D) helical structure composed of 2D smectic layers. Because of the complex shape of the HNF phase, it is difficult to understand the generation mechanism of HNFs in the bulk as well as in the thin-film condition. Here, we directly investigated the nucleation and growth of HNFs in nanobowls. A combination of electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction was used to reveal the transitional surface structures, in which barrel-like structures as well as short HNFs with random handedness were observed, depending on the LC film thickness. These results will be useful in achieving a better understanding of thin film structures of complex chiral structures in soft matter.
authors: Graduate School of Nanoscience and Technology and KINC, KAIST, Daejeon, 305-701, Republic of Korea. nandk@kaist.ac.kr.
authors: Seong Ho
authors: SH
authors: Ryu
authors: Hanim
authors: H
authors: Kim
authors: Sunhee
authors: S
authors: Lee
authors: Yun Jeong
authors: YJ
authors: Cha
authors: Tae Joo
authors: TJ
authors: Shin
authors: Hyungju
authors: H
authors: Ahn
authors: Eva
authors: E
authors: Korblova
authors: David M
authors: DM
authors: Walba
authors: Noel A
authors: NA
authors: Clark
authors: Sang Bok
authors: SB
authors: Lee
authors: Dong Ki
authors: DK
authors: Yoon