'Blue phases' of highly chiral thermotropic liquid crystals with a wide range of near-room temperature

The phase transitions of pure cholesteric liquid crystals, based on right- or left-handed chiral dopants (ChDs) (enantiomers R-811 and S-811, Merck, Darmstadt, Germany) with various concentrations dissolving in the nematic liquid crystal mixture CHCA (ZhK-805, Russia, NIOPIK) were experimentally stu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Liquid crystals 2015-10, Vol.42 (10), p.1391-1404
Main Author: Gvozdovskyy, Igor
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
blue phases
Boundary conditions
chirality
cholesteric liquid crystals
Cooling
Dissolution
Human body
Liquid crystal polymers
Liquid crystals
Phase transformations
Phase transitions
Phases
Surface layer
Temperature
Texture
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Summary:The phase transitions of pure cholesteric liquid crystals, based on right- or left-handed chiral dopants (ChDs) (enantiomers R-811 and S-811, Merck, Darmstadt, Germany) with various concentrations dissolving in the nematic liquid crystal mixture CHCA (ZhK-805, Russia, NIOPIK) were experimentally studied. For the first time, blue phases of cholesterics were found at the concentration range of ChDs 32-36 wt.%. Experimentally it was observed that during the cooling process the blue phase of cholesterics is stable over a wide temperature range about ~15°C including human body and near-room temperatures. Thermal phase transitions, spectral characteristics and electro-optical features of blue phases were examined. Planar and homeotropic alignment layers were used to study the influence of various boundary conditions on platelet textures of blue phases.
ISSN:0267-8292
1366-5855
DOI:10.1080/02678292.2015.1053001