New liquid crystal formation induced by nanoscale phase separation composed of bent-core liquid crystal and rod-like cholesteric liquid crystal mixtures

Abstract

Herein, the local nano-structure in mixtures of a cholesteric liquid crystal mixture and a bent-core molecule was analyzed via the small-angle X-ray scattering. Accordingly, different types of orientational X-ray patterns were obtained, suggesting the different types of nanoscale phase separation, which depends on the cooling rate from the isotropic phase, and thus is related with the kinetics of the phase separation process. Particularly, in the gradual cooling process, a new structure with smectic order in the phase-separated system stably appeared, which is considered to be caused by the B4 filament. According to the structure analysis, it was found that the system composed of rod-like and bent-core molecules not only undergoes simple phase separation, but also an unexpected new functional structure can be constructed by the strong interaction.