Selective phase transition of cholesteric blue phase I induced by pattern-controlled Grandjean–Cano disclinations

Abstract

This study investigates the influence of Grandjean–Cano disclinations on the cholesteric-blue phase I (Ch-BPI) phase transition, revealing the pivotal role of defects in the phase transition of liquid crystals (LCs). We prepared the disclinations by wedge cells or parallel cells with an alignment pattern and demonstrated that the disclinations induce a phase transition in Ch-BPI. Furthermore, we demonstrated the control of the BPI appearance areas by utilizing this property. This defect-induced transition technique not only provides a novel method for controlling BPI orientation, but also offers insights into soft material crystal growth, suggesting potential applications in new BPLC-based device development.

Keywords

• liquid crystals
• blue phases
• phase transitions
• crystallographic defects
• nucleation growth