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Updated: May 31, 2026

High-Contrast and Fast Photorheological Switching of a Twist-Bend Nematic Liquid Crystal
Published on: October 31, 2019
Biaxial-uniaxial transition in a self-assembled nematic liquid crystal by field-induced molecular conformation
Ji-Hoon Lee1, Tong-Kun Lim, Tae-Hoon Yoon
1School of Electrical Engineering, Pusan National University, Pusan, Korea. jihoonlee@pusan.ac.kr
Abstract:
A cylindrical uniaxial liquid crystal was hydrogen-bonded with a tripod-shaped molecule. As the molecular number ratio of cylindrical liquid crystal to tripod molecule converges to 2:1, |s| = 1/2 disclination defects, which are a necessary condition of biaxial nematic phase, appeared predominantly. After the application of an electric field, the |s| = 1/2 disclinations converted to |s| = 1 disclinations which imply a transition from a biaxial to uniaxial state. IR dichroism measurements support the hypothesis that the liquid crystal-tripod molecule complex undergoes a molecular conformation change from bent shape to parallel shape, and this conformation change is thought to be related to a field-induced biaxial-uniaxial transition.
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