Chiral dopant induced twist grain boundary phases |
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Authors: | I Dierking |
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Institution: | Institut für Physikalische Chemie, Technische Universit?t Darmstadt, Petersenstr. 20, D-64287 Darmstadt, Germany |
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Abstract: | A diarylethane alpha-chloro ester was mixed with a chiral dopant of high helical twisting power at variable concentration to study its capability for induction of twist grain boundary phases. With increasing concentration of the chiral dopant, TGBA* and TGBC* phases were observed with a rather broad region of existence. In contrast to homeotropic alignment, planar boundary conditions seem to enhance the phase stability of the TGB phases, resulting in metastable TGB states and phase coexistence with the respective smectic phases. The phase growth of SmA*/SmC* out of the TGBA*/TGBC* state was studied under isothermal conditions as a function of temperature and concentration of the chiral dopant. |
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Keywords: | smectic-A phase chiral nematic phase homeotropic polymer network electro-optical property thermo-optical property |
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