abstract

• Liquid crystals are known to exhibit intriguing textures and color patterns, with applications in display and optical technologies. This work focuses on chiral materials and examines the palette of morphologies that arises when microdroplets are deformed into nonspherical shapes in a controllable manner. Specifically, geometrical confinement and mechanical strain are used to manipulate orientational order, phase transitions, and topological defects that arise in chiral liquid crystal droplets. Inspired by processes encountered in nature, where insects and animals often rely on strain and temperature to alter the optical appearance of dispersed liquid crystalline elements, chiral droplets are dispersed in polymer films and deformation induced by uniaxial or biaxial stretching. Our measurements are interpreted by resorting to simulations of the corresponding systems, thereby providing an in-depth understanding of the morphologies that arise in these materials. The reported structures and assemblies offer potential for applications in smart coatings, smart fabrics, and wearable sensors. © 2020 American Association for the Advancement of Science. All rights reserved.

authors

• Abbott N.L.
• Bukusoglu E.
• DePablo J.
• Hernandez-Ortiz J.P.
• Kurtenbach K.
• Li X.
• Martínez González José Adrián
• Qazvini N.T.
• Sadati M.
• Zhang R.
• Zhou Y.

publication date

• 2020-01-01

published in

• Science Advances  Journal

keywords

• Drop breakup; Nanocrystalline materials; Polymer films; Textures; Biaxial stretching; Chiral liquid crystals; Geometrical confinement; In-depth understanding; Nonspherical shapes; Optical appearances; Optical technology; Orientational orderings; Liquid crystals

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

• 10.1126/sciadv.aba6728

PubMed ID

• 32937535

start page

end page

volume

• 6

issue

• 28