Strongly Chiral Liquid Crystals in Nanoemulsions

Yang, Yu; Palacio‐Betancur, Viviana; Wang, Xin; Pablo, Juan J.; Abbott, Nicholas L.

doi:10.1002/smll.202105835

Title: Strongly Chiral Liquid Crystals in Nanoemulsions

Journal Article · Thu Jan 13 00:00:00 EST 2022 · Small

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202105835· OSTI ID:1869213

^[1]; Palacio‐Betancur, Viviana ^[2]; Wang, Xin ^[3]; Pablo, Juan J. ^[4]; Abbott, Nicholas L. ^[3]

Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States); Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)
Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States)
Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States)
Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States); Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Lemont, IL (United States)

Abstract Liquid crystal (LC) emulsions represent a class of confined soft matter that exhibit exotic internal organizations and size‐dependent properties, including responses to chemical and physical stimuli. Past studies have explored micrometer‐scale LC emulsion droplets but little is known about LC ordering within submicrometer‐sized droplets. This paper reports experiments and simulations that unmask the consequences of confinement in nanoemulsions on strongly chiral LCs that form bulk cholesteric and blue phases (BPs). A method based on light scattering is developed to characterize phase transitions of LCs within the nanodroplets. For droplets with a radius to the pitch ratio ( R _v /p ₀ ) as small as 2/3, the BP‐to‐cholesteric transition is substantially suppressed, leading to a threefold increase of the BP temperature interval relative to bulk behavior. Complementary simulations align with experimental findings and reveal the dominant role of chiral elastic energy. For R _v /p ₀ ≈ 1/3, a single LC phase forms below the clearing point, with simulations revealing the new configuration to contain a τ ^−1/2 disclination that extends across the nanodroplet. These findings are discussed in the context of mechanisms by which polymer networks stabilize BPs and, more broadly, for the design of nanoconfined soft matter.

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Research Organization:: Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); National Science Foundation (NSF); University of Wisconsin-Madison

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-06CH11357; SC0019762; DMR-1719875

OSTI ID:: 1869213

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1839782

Journal Information:: Small, Vol. 18, Issue 10; ISSN 1613-6810

Publisher:: WileyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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