Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

A triple-network tricontinuous cubic liquid crystal.

Xiangbing Zeng1, Goran Ungar, Marianne Impéror-Clerc

  • 1Department of Engineering Materials, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 3JD, UK. x.zeng@shef.ac.uk

Nature Materials
|June 7, 2005
PubMed
Summary

Researchers discovered a novel liquid crystal phase with cubic symmetry Im3m. This phase features three interpenetrating infinite networks, representing a complex soft matter structure with potential applications in materials science.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Extreme Activation of Surface Proton Hopping Conduction Mechanism via Self-Assembly of Liquid-Crystalline Discotic Molecules.

Journal of the American Chemical Society·2026
Same author

Evaporation-Induced Phase Transitions in Free-Standing Plasmonic Nanoparticle Assemblies.

Nano letters·2026
Same author

Chromosome-level genome assembly and annotation of the Murray cod (Maccullochella peelii, Percichthyidae).

Scientific data·2026
Same author

Comparative outcomes of single condylar replacement and total knee arthroplasty in elderly patients with knee osteoarthritis: A controlled clinical study.

Journal of orthopaedic surgery (Hong Kong)·2026
Same author

Polymorphic Self-Poisoning in Poly(Lactic Acid): A New Phenomenon in Polymer Crystallization.

Physical review letters·2026
Same author

Gyroid Labyrinth of Supertwisted Double Helices in a Liquid Crystal Polymer.

Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)·2025

Area of Science:

  • Soft matter physics
  • Materials science
  • Crystallography

Background:

  • Soft matter systems like liquid crystals form periodic nanostructures.
  • Bicontinuous cubic phases, with two interpenetrating networks, are well-studied.
  • Applications include nanoporous materials and photonic devices.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To describe a novel soft matter phase.
  • To report the first structure with three interpenetrating infinite networks.
  • To analyze its properties and relationship to known phases.

Main Methods:

  • Thermotropic liquid crystal synthesis (solvent-free).
  • Direct Fourier reconstruction of electron density.
  • Analysis of cubic symmetry Im3m.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • Discovery of a novel liquid crystal phase with cubic symmetry Im3m.
  • The phase exhibits three interpenetrating infinite networks, a unique structural motif.
  • The structure is one of the most complex reported for liquid crystals.

Conclusions:

  • The newly identified phase expands the understanding of soft matter structures.
  • Its complex network architecture offers potential for advanced material design.
  • Further research will explore its formation rationale and phase diagram position.