General phase-structure relationship in polar rod-shaped liquid crystals: Importance of shape anisotropy and dipolar strength
Jinxing Li,
Zhidong Wang,
Minghui Deng,
Yuanyuan Zhu,
Xinxin Zhang,
Runli Xia,
Yaohao Song,
Yuki Hisai,
Satoshi Aya,
Mingjun Huang
Affiliations
Jinxing Li
South China Advanced Institute for Soft Matter Science and Technology (AISMST), School of Emergent Soft Matter, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
Zhidong Wang
South China Advanced Institute for Soft Matter Science and Technology (AISMST), School of Emergent Soft Matter, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
Minghui Deng
South China Advanced Institute for Soft Matter Science and Technology (AISMST), School of Emergent Soft Matter, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
Yuanyuan Zhu
South China Advanced Institute for Soft Matter Science and Technology (AISMST), School of Emergent Soft Matter, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
Xinxin Zhang
South China Advanced Institute for Soft Matter Science and Technology (AISMST), School of Emergent Soft Matter, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
Runli Xia
South China Advanced Institute for Soft Matter Science and Technology (AISMST), School of Emergent Soft Matter, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
Yaohao Song
South China Advanced Institute for Soft Matter Science and Technology (AISMST), School of Emergent Soft Matter, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
Yuki Hisai
Independent researcher, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 1640002, Japan
Satoshi Aya
South China Advanced Institute for Soft Matter Science and Technology (AISMST), School of Emergent Soft Matter, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Functional and Intelligent Hybrid Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China; Corresponding authors.
Mingjun Huang
South China Advanced Institute for Soft Matter Science and Technology (AISMST), School of Emergent Soft Matter, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Functional and Intelligent Hybrid Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China; Corresponding authors.
Ferroelectricity is a property with spontaneous polarization, which is of paramount importance in modern electrooptic applications. Yet, its observations are mostly limited to solids or chiral smectic C liquid crystals with nearly no fluidity. The fluidic ferroelectrics, called ferroelectric nematics, have recently become available by incorporating strong polarity into the apolar liquid crystalline orientational field. Here, we present a rational principle for designing the ferroelectric materials and controlling their phase behaviors. We reveal that, while the apolar nematic order with the second-rank tensor originates from the shape anisotropy in the apolar nematic state, the polarization field serves as an additional mechanism for stabilizing polar nematic orders. Based on a comprehensive set of examinations and machine-learningdriven analyses for about 150 chemically distinct polar rod-shaped molecules, we uncover that the interplay between the shape anisotropy and polarization field gives rise to a diversification of the polar liquid crystal behaviors. The strategy offers much broader design flexibility and may facilitate the development of future polar functional liquid crystals.
