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Issue 21, 2011
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Direct observation of two-dimensional nematic and smectic ordering in freely suspended films of a bolaamphiphilic liquid crystal

Nattaporn Chattham,*aef   Chenhui Zhu,b   Xiaohong Cheng,†c   Jumras Limtrakul,def   Carsten Tschierske,c   Joseph E. Maclennanb  and  Noel A. Clarkb  
Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

a Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand
E-mail: nattaporn.c@ku.ac.th
Fax: +66 2942 8029
Tel: +66 2562 5555 ext. 5122

b Department of Physics and Liquid Crystal Materials Research Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA

c Organic Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Kurt-Mothes Str. 2, Halle, Germany

d Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand

e NANOTEC Center of Excellence, National Nanotechnology Center, Kasetsart University Research and Development Institute, Bangkok, Thailand

f Center for Advanced Studies in Nanotechnology and its Applications in Chemical, Food, and Agricultural Industries, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand

Abstract

The T-shaped bolaamphiphile CT2, a liquid crystal with a hydroxyl-terminated, rod-shaped core and semifluorinated side chains, forms the Lam-Iso, Lam-Nem, and Lam-Sm lamellar phases, which are reported to exhibit respectively smectic layering of the side chains with additional in-layer isotropic (Iso), nematic (Nem) and smectic-like (Sm) ordering of the rigid molecular cores. Optical observation of 2–16 layer thick freely suspended films enables visualization and quantitative study of these transitions in two dimensions (2D). The 2D-Iso to 2D-Nem transition is found to be first order, occurring first in the film surface layers and then in the film interior on further cooling. The second order 2D-Nem to 2D-Sm transition is marked by the continuous evolution of the orientational texture from 2D nematic-like to 2D focal conic. The film geometry stabilizes the lamellar ordering, significantly increasing the birefringence associated with the in-plane ordering in the films.

Graphical abstract: Direct observation of two-dimensional nematic and smectic ordering in freely suspended films of a bolaamphiphilic liquid crystal

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Article information

https://doi.org/10.1039/C1SM05873H
Submitted
11 May 2011
Accepted
29 Jul 2011
First published
31 Aug 2011
Soft Matter, 2011,7, 9978-9982
Article type
Paper
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Direct observation of two-dimensional nematic and smectic ordering in freely suspended films of a bolaamphiphilic liquid crystal

N. Chattham, C. Zhu, X. Cheng, J. Limtrakul, C. Tschierske, J. E. Maclennan and N. A. Clark, Soft Matter, 2011, 7, 9978
DOI: 10.1039/C1SM05873H

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