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Updated: Feb 3, 2026

High-Contrast and Fast Photorheological Switching of a Twist-Bend Nematic Liquid Crystal
Published on: October 31, 2019
Cylindrical nematic liquid crystal shell: effect of saddle-splay elasticity
Arman Javadi1, Jonghee Eun, Joonwoo Jeong
1Department of Physics, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea. jjeong@unist.ac.kr.
Abstract:
This study introduces cylindrical nematic liquid crystal (LC) shells. Shells as confinement can provide soft matter with intriguing topology and geometry. Indeed, in spherical shells of LCs, rich defect structures have been reported. Avoiding the inherent Plateau-Rayleigh instability of cylindrical liquid-liquid interfaces, we realize the cylindrical nematic LC shell by two different methods: the phase separation in the nematic-isotropic coexistence phase and a cylindrical cavity with a glass rod suspended in the middle. Specifically, the director configurations of lyotropic chromonic LCs (LCLCs) in the cylindrical shell and their energetics are investigated theoretically and experimentally. Unusual elastic properties of LCLCs, i.e., a large saddle-splay modulus, and a shell geometry with both concave and convex curvatures, result in a double-twist director configuration.
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