title: Patterning of Lyotropic Chromonic Liquid Crystals by Photoalignment with Photonic Metamasks.
abstract: Controlling supramolecular self-assembly in water-based solutions is an important problem of interdisciplinary character that impacts the development of many functional materials and systems. Significant progress in aqueous self-assembly and templating has been demonstrated by using lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals (LCLCs) as these materials show spontaneous orientational order caused by unidirectional stacking of plank-like molecules into elongated aggregates. In this work, it is demonstrated that the alignment direction of chromonic assemblies can be patterned into complex spatially-varying structures with very high micrometer-scale precision. The approach uses photoalignment with light beams that exhibit a spatially-varying direction of light polarization. The state of polarization is imprinted into a layer of photosensitive dye that is protected against dissolution into the LCLC by a liquid crystalline polymer layer. The demonstrated level of control over the spatial orientation of LCLC opens opportunities for engineering materials and devices for optical and biological applications.
authors.affiliation: Liquid Crystal Institute and Chemical Physics Interdisciplinary Program, Kent State University, Kent, OH, 44242, USA.
authors.forename: Chenhui
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Liquid Crystal Institute and Chemical Physics Interdisciplinary Program, Kent State University, Kent, OH, 44242, USA.
authors.forename: Yubing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Liquid Crystal Institute and Chemical Physics Interdisciplinary Program, Kent State University, Kent, OH, 44242, USA.
authors.forename: Taras
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Turiv
authors.affiliation: Liquid Crystal Institute and Chemical Physics Interdisciplinary Program, Kent State University, Kent, OH, 44242, USA.
authors.forename: Miao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Liquid Crystal Institute and Chemical Physics Interdisciplinary Program, Kent State University, Kent, OH, 44242, USA.
authors.forename: Qi-Huo
authors.initials: QH
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Liquid Crystal Institute and Chemical Physics Interdisciplinary Program, Kent State University, Kent, OH, 44242, USA.
authors.forename: Oleg D
authors.initials: OD
authors.lastname: Lavrentovich
keywords: disodium chromoglycate; lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals; patterned photoalignment; plasmonic metamasks; topological defects