title: Structural transitions and guest/host complexing of liquid crystal helical nanofilaments induced by nanoconfinement.
abstract: A lamellar liquid crystal (LC) phase of certain bent-core mesogenic molecules can be grown in a manner that generates a single chiral helical nanofilament in each of the cylindrical nanopores of an anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane. By introducing guest molecules into the resulting composite chiral nanochannels, we explore the structures and functionality of the ordered guest/host LC complex, verifying the smectic-like positional order of the fluidic nematic LC phase, which is obtained by the combination of the LC organization and the nanoporous AAO superstructure. The guest nematic LC 4'-n-pentyl-4-cyanobiphenyl is found to form a distinctive fluid layered ordered LC complex at the nanofilament/guest interface with the host 1,3-phenylene bis[4-(4-nonyloxyphenyliminomethyl)benzoate], where this interface contacts the AAO cylinder wall. Filament growth form is strongly influenced by mixture parameters and pore dimensions.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Nanoscience and Technology, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hanim
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Nanoscience and Technology, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seong Ho
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Ryu
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Soft Materials Research Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-6560-1913
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tuchband
authors.affiliation: Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) Central Research Facilities & School of Natural Science, UNIST, Ulsan 689-798, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Tae Joo
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Soft Materials Research Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Korblova
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Soft Materials Research Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
authors.forename: David M
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4478-3858
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Walba
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Soft Materials Research Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
authors.forename: Noel A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Nanoscience and Technology, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Dong Ki
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Yoon
keywords: Guest-host complexing; Self-assembly; helical nanofilament phase; nano-segregation; nanoconfinement; nematic liquid crystal phase