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Updated: May 22, 2026

High-Contrast and Fast Photorheological Switching of a Twist-Bend Nematic Liquid Crystal
Published on: October 31, 2019
Light-driven phase transition in a cubic-phase-forming binary system composed of
Ryo Hori1, Daisuke Furukawa, Katsuhiro Yamamoto
1Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering, Gifu University, Yanagido, Gifu 501-1193, Japan.
Abstract:
Binary mixtures were prepared from an azobenzene derivative and a liquid-crystal (LC) compound that exhibits smectic C (SmC) and bicontinuous cubic (Cub(bi)) LC phases. Reversible switching between the two phases in response to UV-light irradiation was observed. This light-driven SmC-to-Cub(bi) transition is the first example showing the increased dimensionality of molecular ordering with isomerization of azobenzenes (see figure).
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