Shape selection of twist-nematic-elastomer ribbons

How microscopic chirality is reflected in macroscopic scale to form various chiral shapes, such as straight helicoids and spiral ribbons, and how the degree of macroscopic chirality can be controlled are a focus of studies on the shape formation of many biomaterials and supramolecular systems. This...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2011-04, Vol.108 (16), p.6364-6368
Main Authors: Sawa, Yoshiki, Ye, Fangfu, Urayama, Kenji, Takigawa, Toshikazu, Gimenez-Pinto, Vianney, Selinger, Robin L. B., Selinger, Jonathan V., Lubensky, Tom C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acrylates - chemistry
Biomaterials
Biomedical materials
Chirality
Crystals
Curvature
Elasticity
Elastomers
Elastomers - chemistry
Gels
Lipids
Liquid crystals
Material films
Materials elasticity
Models, Chemical
Physical Sciences
Polymers
Solvents
Studies
Temperature effects
Tensors
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Summary:How microscopic chirality is reflected in macroscopic scale to form various chiral shapes, such as straight helicoids and spiral ribbons, and how the degree of macroscopic chirality can be controlled are a focus of studies on the shape formation of many biomaterials and supramolecular systems. This article investigates both experimentally and theoretically how the chiral arrangement of liquid crystal mesogens in twist-nematic-elastomer films induces the formation of helicoids and spiral ribbons because of the coupling between the liquid crystalline order and the elasticity. It is also shown that the pitch of the formed ribbons can be tuned by temperature variation. The results of this study will facilitate the understanding of physics for the shape formation of chiral materials and the designing of new structures on basis of microscopic chirality.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.1017658108