The Dependency of Nematic and Twist-bend Mesophase Formation on Bend Angle

The Dependency of Nematic and Twist-bend Mesophase Formation on Bend Angle

We have prepared and studied a family of cyanobiphenyl dimers with varying linking groups with a view to exploring how molecular structure dictates the stability of the nematic and twist-bend nematic mesophases. Using molecular modelling and 1D 1H NOESY NMR spectroscopy, we determine the angle between the two aromatic core units for each dimer and find a strong dependency of the stability of bo...

Nematic twist-bend phase with nanoscale modulation of molecular orientation

A state of matter in which molecules show a long-range orientational order and no positional order is called a nematic liquid crystal. The best known and most widely used (for example, in modern displays) is the uniaxial nematic, with the rod-like molecules aligned along a single axis, called the director. When the molecules are chiral, the director twists in space, drawing a right-angle helico...

Fluctuation modes of a twist-bend nematic liquid crystal

Equilibrium shapes of a twist-bend nematic drop

These notes supplement our paper Interfacial and morphological features of a twist-bend nematic drop, producing a number of analytical details of the mathematical model employed there to interpret the experimental observations of equilibrium shapes of a twist-bend nematic drop in two space dimensions. For the sake of continuity and completeness, some figures and equations are also reproduced here.

The dependency of twist-bend nematic liquid crystals on molecular structure: a progression from dimers to trimers, oligomers and polymers.

This article gives an overview on recent developments concerning the twist-bend nematic phase. The twist-bend nematic phase has been discussed as the missing link between the uniaxial nematic mesophase (N) and the helical chiral nematic phase (N*). After an introduction discussing the key physical properties of the NTB phase and the methods used to identify the twist-bend nematic mesophase this...