Fabrication of Arrays of Topological Solitons in Patterned Chiral Liquid Crystals for Real-Time Observation of Morphogenesis

Park, Geonhyeong; Suh, Ahram; Zhao, Hanqing; Lee, Changjae; Choi, Yun‐Seok; Smalyukh, Ivan I.; Yoon, Dong Ki

doi:10.1002/adma.202201749

Fabrication of Arrays of Topological Solitons in Patterned Chiral Liquid Crystals for Real-Time Observation of Morphogenesis

Journal Article · Sun Jun 05 00:00:00 EDT 2022 · Advanced Materials

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202201749· OSTI ID:1976215

Park, Geonhyeong ^[1]; Suh, Ahram ^[2]; Zhao, Hanqing ^[3]; Lee, Changjae ^[2]; ^[2]; Smalyukh, Ivan I. ^[4]; ^[2]

Korea Advanced Institute Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); OSTI
Korea Advanced Institute Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)
University of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States)
University of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute (RSEI); University of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States)

Topological solitons have knotted continuous field configurations embedded in a uniform background, and occur in cosmology, biology, and electromagnetism. However, real-time observation of their morphogenesis and dynamics is still challenging because their size and timescale are enormously large or tiny. Liquid crystal (LC) structures are promising candidates for a model-system to study the morphogenesis of topological solitons, enabling direct visualization due to the proper size and timescale. We report a new way is found to rationalize the real-time observation of the generation and transformation of topological solitons using cholesteric LCs confined in patterned substrates. The experimental demonstration shows the topologically protected structures arise via the transformation of topological defects. Numerical modeling based on minimization of free energy closely reconstructs the experimental findings. The fundamental insights obtained from the direct observations pose new theoretical challenges in understanding the morphogenesis of different types of topological solitons within a broad range of scales.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: University of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: National Science Foundation (NSF); National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF); USDOE; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division (MSE)

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0019293

OSTI ID:: 1976215

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 2341940
OSTI ID: 1873587

Journal Information:: Advanced Materials, Journal Name: Advanced Materials Journal Issue: 29 Vol. 34; ISSN 0935-9648

Publisher:: WileyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
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chiral liquid crystal
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Fabrication of Arrays of Topological Solitons in Patterned Chiral Liquid Crystals for Real-Time Observation of Morphogenesis

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