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Controlling molecular assembly at the nanoscale requires understanding intermolecular forces. This study reveals how molecular dipoles in self-assembled monolayers dictate liquid crystal alignment, enabling precise nanoscale engineering.

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Area of Science:

  • Nanoscale science and engineering
  • Materials science
  • Surface chemistry

Background:

  • Precise control over molecular assembly is crucial for engineering nanoscale structures and functions.
  • Liquid crystal (LC) assembly is highly sensitive to surface properties, translating nanoscale interactions into macroscopic optical signals.
  • Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) are effective in modifying surface interactions and influencing LC alignment.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To deconvolve the influence of SAM-LC dipolar coupling from other factors like molecular geometry, tilt, and order.
  • To investigate how different dipole magnitudes and orientations of carboranethiol and -dithiol positional isomers affect LC alignment.
  • To advance the engineering of molecular interactions at the nanoscale by understanding dipolar coupling.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized carboranethiol and -dithiol positional isomers with varying dipole characteristics as SAMs.
  • Fabricated LC cells with these different SAMs as alignment layers.
  • Measured LC director orientations and anchoring energies to probe SAM-LC interactions.

Main Results:

  • The normal component of the molecular dipole in the SAM dictates the in-plane LC director orientation.
  • LC alignment serves as a sensitive probe for quantifying the strength of SAM-LC interactions.
  • Demonstrated the critical role of dipolar coupling between molecular monolayers and their environment in determining molecular orientations.

Conclusions:

  • The orientation of the molecular dipole within SAMs is a key factor controlling LC alignment.
  • This work provides a method to engineer nanoscale molecular interactions by leveraging dipolar coupling.
  • The findings enable more sophisticated design of materials with tailored nanoscale properties.