Faster Switching in Liquid Crystals

V-Shaped switching and interlayer interactions in ferroelectric liquid crystals

Linear electrooptic responses in ferroelectric liquid crystals can be achieved via thresholdless switching. The molecular parameters for the design of ferroelectric liquid crystals that may yield a thresholdless response have not been delineated so far. In this article we explore some of the chemical design features that may be utilised in controlling switching processes, and we develop propert...

Photoalignment of liquid crystals by liquid crystals

We observed light-induced alignment of the nematic liquid crystal, 4, 4(')-n-pentylcyanobiphenyl (5CB), on a fused quartz. Irradiation of the adsorbed layer with polarized ultraviolet light produced homogeneous alignment in a 5CB-filled liquid crystal cell with the easy orientation axis perpendicular to the polarization direction. The measured anchoring energy increases with illumination up to ...

Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals

Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals

The problem of finding the equilibrium shape of a small particle by the Wulff construction is reviewed briefly, with emphasis on its applications to liquid crystals. The proof of Wulff’s theorem is stated in a concise mathematical form. Some typical equilibrium shapes of liquid crystalline cirops are described. When there is orientational order of the molecules in the liquid crystal but no tran...

Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals

A series of new heterocyclic stable free radicals based on the thioaminyl fragment 1 was designed in order to introduce a x-delocalized spin to the rigid cores of mesogenic molecules. The design allows for preparation of calamitic and discotic liquid crystals. Computational analysis and first experimental results of the radicals (ESR) are presented. The thioaminyl group' (1) has been featured a...