Polymerizable hexacatenar liquid crystals containing a luminescent oligo(p-phenylenevinylene) core

Polymerizable hexacatenar mesogens containing a photo-active oligo(p-phenylenevinylene) core were successfully synthesized by replacing the traditional n-alkoxy tails on the molecules with polymerizable hydrocarbon tails containing terminal isoprenyl or 1,3-dienyl units. It was found that for this particular liquid crystal (LC) platform, the incorporation of conventional radical polymerizable groups such as acrylates in the tails was not conducive to the formation of thermotropic LC phases, presumably due to their polar nature. The resulting photoluminescent isoprenyl and 1,3-dienyl hexacatenar monomers were found to form columnar hexagonal phases at elevated temperatures (c. 45–75°C), as determined by powder X-ray diffraction. Unfortunately, photoinitiated radical polymerization studies revealed that the mesogens are susceptible to photodegradation in the LC state at elevated temperatures, resulting in the loss of both LC order and emission properties during photopolymerization. Thermally initiated radical polymerization in the absence of light, however, afforded effective crosslinking with retention of both LC order and the desired emission properties. The resulting crosslinked columnar hexagonal phases were found to exhibit emission maxima at nearly identical wavelengths, with comparable intensities relative to the unpolymerized starting materials. The effect of the different polymerizable groups on the mesogenic behaviour, polymerization characteristics, and emission properties of the hexacatenar compounds is presented.     

Electro‐optical cells using a cellulose derivative and cholesteric liquid crystals

A cellulose derivative/liquid crystal composite‐type electro‐optical cell using a commercial cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) was investigated. The electro‐optical properties of the system were examined, i.e. the dependence on applied voltage of the reflected wavelength and the minimum and maximum transmissions. A thin film of the CLC was dispersed with a cross‐linked cellulose film of 25 µm thickness. In the voltage dependence of the reflected wavelength it was verified that there is a hysteresis in the reflected wavelength. The variation of the reflected wavelength with temperature was also determined. The results are analysed in the framework of similar systems described in the literature for CLC dispersed in a polymer matrix.     

Planar and non-planar solidification of optically organised smectic films

This letter describes an original freezing process that yields homogeneous solid films at ambient temperature with preservation of the layered structure of the chiral smectic phase. One of the most remarkable features of the process is its ability to provide complexly bent films with arbitrary three-dimensional shapes. Their optical homogeneity is observed in the planar as well as in the bent films. The method is very simple. After forming the films by spreading the liquid crystal above a hole in a glass slice placed over a hot stage, the film is heated from below. The hot film is exposed to ambient temperature. Then, a solid object at room temperature with a specifically adapted shape is immersed in the liquid film. The mechanical constraints imposed by the object curves the film and stabilises various solid two- and three-dimensional structures. Their homogeneous optical properties are due to long-range organisation of the molecular orientation (tilt), which combines with a complex helical arrangement of the frozen smectic layers.     

Synthesis,characterisation and mesomorphic properties of ester containing aroylhydrazones and their nickel(II) complexes

A new series of mesogenic aroylhydrazone-based ligands, N-[4-(4′-alkoxy)benzoyloxybenzylidene]-N′-[4″-alkoxybenzoyl]hydrazine with either the same or different peripheral alkyl chains, and nickel(II) complexes of some of them have been synthesised. They were characterised by elemental analyses, Fourier transform infrared, proton and carbon nuclear magnetic resonance and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. The mesomorphic properties of these compounds were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry and polarising optical microscopy. All the aroylhydrazones, except those with no lateral chains on either end of the molecule and where m?=?n?=?14, 16, exhibit a monotropic or enantiotropic smectic C mesophase, which are almost insensitive to the peripheral alkoxy chain length. The square planar nickel(II) complexes of the ligands show only an isotropic phase at higher temperature (>175°C) and no mesogenic nature is observed. Density functional theory calculations have been performed using the GAUSSIAN-03 program at the Becke, three-parameter, Lee–Yang–Parr level to obtain the stable electronic structure of the ligand.     

Optical properties of a mesogen by image analysis

An image analysis technique in conjunction with polarising optical microscopy (POM) is proposed for assessment of the thermo-optical properties of homogeneously aligned chiral ester liquid crystals of the type ((S)-(-)-2-methylbutyl 4′-(4″-n-alkanoyloxybenzoyloxy) biphenyl-4-carboxylates, where n?=?16 or 18. Chiral ester textures are recorded as a function of temperature using POM provided with a hot-stage and a high-resolution colour camera. Temperature-dependent optical parameters, or thermo-optical properties such as optical transmission, degree of polarisation, absorption coefficient and birefringence are computed for chiral esters by analysing the texture of samples using MATLAB software. This is a simple experimental technique for observing how the optical parameters of liquid crystals change with temperature.     

Impact of Various Parameters Over the Stability of Water-in-Vegetable Oil Emulsion

Theory regarding emulsification, its coalescence and impact of emulsifier over its stability has been updated. For the verification of the proposed theory, water-in-oil emulsion was prepared by mixing water and soybean oil in the presence and absence of emulsifier, monoglyceride. The effect of different parameters like emulsification time, contents of water, and concentration of emulsifier has been investigated on the emulsification and coalescence process of the emulsion. It was noted that the emulsion quality was highest if the mixture was homogenized for about 15 minutes and the water contents were 40% v/v. The addition of monoglyceride up to 0.5% w/v gave the most stable emulsion having higher quality than other composition. The results obtained were compared with the proposed theory and found to have good compositions.      

Fast switching beam steering based on ferroelectric liquid crystal phase shutter and polarisation grating

We report on fast-switching and high-efficient optical beam steering based on a polymerisable liquid crystal polarisation grating (PG) in combination with ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) phase shutter. The PG was fabricated in a convenient single-step holographic exposure process using photo-sensitive azo-dye material as alignment layer for liquid crystal (LC) director. A binary electro-optical FLC was employed for circular polarisation selection, which enables the electro-tunable steering of the combined system. The efficiency of 95.7% with 82 μs switching time is obtained for 1064 nm laser. This work provides a versatile candidate for non-mechanical beam steering devices.     

Inductive effect for the phase stability in hydrogen bonded liquid crystals,x-(p/m)BA:9OBAs

A new series of hydrogen bonded liquid crystal (HBLC) complexes, made up with substituted benzoic acids (BAs) and nonyloxy benzoic acid, viz., x-(p/m)BA:9OBAs are reported for x = F, Cl, Br and –CH₃ substituted at para (p) or meta (m) positions of BA moiety. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H-NMR) spectrum confirms the HBLC complex. Infra red (IR) spectrum confirms linear, double and complementary type of hydrogen bonding (HB) between x-(p/m)BAs and 9OBA. The liquid crystal (LC) phases are characterised by polarisation optical microscopy (POM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) techniques. x-(p/m)BA:9OBA exhibit N, C and G LC phase variance. HB induces tilted phases and enhances LC phase stability. The influence of configuration, size, electronegativity, electron directing capacity and inductive nature of substituent (x) is investigated for the stability of LC phases. An overview of the LC phase data indicates predominant ‘negative inductive effect’ in HBLCs with electron withdrawing substituents. Inductive effect operates effectively for para substitutions. Results are discussed in the wake of reports in other HBLCs.     

Fast polarisation-insensitive optical shutter supported by backflow in dichroic dye-doped dual-frequency liquid crystal

This paper describes a novel implementation of a dual-frequency liquid crystal optical shutter of the guest–host type. The transmissive state of the filter is obtained by applying a low-frequency electric field that brings the dichroic dye in a homeotropic orientation. The light-absorbing state is realised by a twisted planar configuration for which the absorption is quasi-independent of the polarisation. Switching between the two states occurs in about 1 ms and the devices show no scattering for wavelengths inside or outside the absorption band of the dichroic dye. Simulations and experiments reveal how a twisted state is obtained through the backflow phenomenon.     

Polymer-dispersed liquid crystal composites for bio-applications: thermotropic,surface and optical properties

Polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) systems based on polysulfone as carrying matrix and 4-cyano-4?-pentylbiphenyl (5CB) liquid crystal (LC) were obtained as thin transparent films. The PDLC films were prepared by solvent- and thermally induced phase separation methods, with various compositions in the two components. Information on the phase separation was obtained by polarised light optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and scanning electron microscopy. The PDLC composites show well-defined droplets of submicrometric size, around 650 nm for a medium content of LC and around 250 nm for a low one. The droplets show a radial configuration and a homeotropic alignment of the LC molecules within. By contact angle measurement and surface free energy calculations, it was established that self-assembling of aliphatic units of the two composite components, at droplet interface, is the driving force of the homeotropic alignment. Moreover, these data indicated the potential biocompatibility of the studied composites. The photophysical behaviour shows a better light emission of the PDLCs containing bigger droplets.