Helix Inversion Controlled by Molecular Motors in Multistate Liquid Crystals

Unravelling the rules of molecular motion is a contemporary challenge that promises to support the development of responsive materials and is likely to enhance the understanding of functional motion. Advances in integrating light‐driven molecular motors in soft matter have led to the design and real...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Advanced materials (Weinheim) 2020-11, Vol.32 (47), p.e2004420-n/a
Main Authors: Ryabchun, Alexander, Lancia, Federico, Chen, Jiawen, Morozov, Dmitry, Feringa, Ben L., Katsonis, Nathalie
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Chain dynamics
chirality
Cholesteric liquid crystals
Crystal structure
Helices
light‐responsive materials
liquid crystals
Materials science
Molecular motion
Molecular motors
Motorcycles
Nematic crystals
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Summary:Unravelling the rules of molecular motion is a contemporary challenge that promises to support the development of responsive materials and is likely to enhance the understanding of functional motion. Advances in integrating light‐driven molecular motors in soft matter have led to the design and realization of chiral nematic (cholesteric) liquid crystals that can respond to light with modification of their helical pitch, and also with helix inversion. Under illumination, these chiral liquid crystals convert from one helical geometry to another. Here, a series of light‐driven molecular motors that feature a rich configurational landscape is presented, specifically which involves three stable chiral states. The succession of chiral structures involved in the motor cycle is transmitted at higher structural levels, as the cholesteric liquid crystals that are formed can interconvert between helices of opposite handedness, reversibly. In these materials, the dynamic features of the motors are thus expressed at the near‐macroscopic, functional level, into addressable colors that can be used in advanced materials for tunable optics and photonics. A series of light‐driven molecular motors is used to achieve advanced control over chirality in liquid crystals. The dynamic features of these motors are faithfully reproduced at the macroscopic level, into addressable structural colors that can find applications in tunable optics and photonics.
ISSN:0935-9648
1521-4095
DOI:10.1002/adma.202004420