Manipulation makes light work: The morphology and rheological properties of a liquid-crystalline system can be dynamically manipulated with UV light by attaching photoresponsive liquid-crystalline moieties to a siloxane-based polymer. Stimulation with UV light induces a conformational change in the molecule, which disrupts the liquid-crystalline mesophase (see picture), and results in a dramati...

An ethynyl-substituted nickel(II) phthalocyanine has been synthesised and its thermotropic properties studied; optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques revealed an unusual mesomorphic behaviour observed for the first time in phthalocyanine systems where each disk of the hexagonal columnar mesophase is formed by two ethynyl-substituted ph...

We report on the generation of tunable structured light fields endowed with various sets of phase singularities from a single topological defect in a nematic liquid crystal mesophase. The experimental demonstration relies on the use of electric field-induced nonsingular topological defects called "umbilics."

2014 Two hexa-alkoxy derivatives (7a and 7b) of terephthal-bis-[4-benzoyloxyaniline] are described. They exhibit two new types of mesophase for which the term phasmidic is proposed : one has an hexagonal 2D lattice and the second an oblique 2D lattice. J. Physique Lett. 46 (1985) L-875 L-880 15 SEPTEMBRE 1985, Classification Physics Abstracts 61.30 64.70E ’

An important route to understanding how proteins function at a mechanistic level is to have the structure of the target protein available, ideally at atomic resolution. Presently, there is only one way to capture such information as applied to integral membrane proteins (Figure 1), and the complexes they form, and that method is macromolecular X-ray crystallography (MX). To do MX diffraction qu...

We review the scientific history of random close packing (RCP) of equal spheres, advocated by J D Bernal as a more plausible alternative to the non-ideal gas or imperfect crystal as a structural model of simple liquids. After decades of neglect, computer experiments are revealing a central role for RCP in the theory of liquids. These demonstrate that the RCP amorphous state of hard spheres can ...

Introduction FCC decant oil is the primary feedstock to delayed coker to produce needle coke, a premium carbon precursor to synthetic graphite electrodes. Mesophase development during coking, determines the graphitizability of the needle coke product. Mesophase development, in turn, depends on the molecular composition of the feedstocks [1,2]. In a commercial delayed coking unit, liquid-phase c...

The evolution of the contact zone between pure surfactant and solvent has been studied by mesoscale simulation. It is found that mesophase formation becomes diffusion controlled and follows the equilibrium phase diagram adiabatically almost as soon as individual mesophases can be identified, corresponding to times in real systems of order 10 micros.