Self‐peeling of gecko toes is mimicked by integration of film‐terminated fibrillar adhesives to hybrid nematic liquid crystal network (LCN) cantilevers. A soft gripper is developed based on the ...gecko‐inspired attachment/detachment mechanism. Performance of the fabricated gripper for transportation of thin delicate objects is evaluated by the optimum mechanical strength of the LCN and the maximum size of the adhesive patch.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Thermotropic liquid crystals can be formed by various molecular shapes, some discovered over 125 years ago. The simplest and most-studied liquid crystals are made of rod-shaped molecules and led to ...today’s omnipresent liquid crystal displays. While applied scientists and engineers have been perfecting liquid crystal displays, a large group of liquid crystal scientists have become excited about liquid crystals of bent-shaped (banana-shaped) molecules. These compounds were first reported 20 years ago and since then have taken center stage in current liquid crystal science. The “banana mania” is due to the fact that even a small kink in the molecular shape leads to fundamentally new properties and phases. This review summarizes the large variety of novel structures and physical properties and describes the underlying physics. The dependence of macroscopic properties on both the shape of the molecules and the flexibility of the central core is emphasized. Most rigid bent-core molecules form smectic and sometimes columnar structures; only a minority forms nematic phases. By contrast, most flexible bent-core molecules form nanostructured nematic phases, including the twist-bend nematic phase discovered very recently.
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CMK, CTK, FMFMET, IJS, NUK, PNG, UM
We briefly review studies of liquid crystal films suspended in submillimeter size grids for biosensing applications and beyond. Due to intense recent research, the sensitivity of liquid crystal films ...to targeted biologically relevant agents can be increased, and the LC surface can be functionalized to be sensitive only to pre-assigned pathogens. Beyond sensor applications, we show that novel liquid crystal defect structures can be used to manipulate separation and deposition of lipids. Finally, we demonstrate that not only the nematic liquid crystal phase, but also chiral nematic (cholesteric and blue phase) and smectic liquid crystals can be used for sensing and may extend the sensitivity and/or the selection of biomaterials, which can be sensed.
Recent results on structural properties and possible bio-sensing applications of planar liquid crystal films are reviewed.
Muscle‐driven actuation of biomimetic microfibrillar structures is achieved using integrative soft‐lithography on a backing splayed liquid‐crystal elastomer (LCE). Variation in the backing LCE layer ...thickness yields different modes of thermal deformation from a pure bend to a twist‐bend. Muscular motion and dynamic self‐cleaning of gecko toe pads are mimicked via this mechanism.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Nematic liquid crystals of achiral molecules or racemic mixtures of chiral ones form flat films when suspended in submillimeter size grids and submerged under water. Recently, it has been shown ...(Popov et al., 2017) that films of nematic liquid crystals doped with chiral molecules adopt biconvex lens shapes underwater. The curved shape together with degenerate planar anchoring leads to a radial variation of the optical axis along the plane of the film, providing a Pancharatnam–Berry-type phase lens that modifies geometric optical imaging. Here, we describe nematic liquid crystal microlenses formed by the addition of chiral nanoparticles. It is found that the helical twisting power of the nanoparticles, the key factor to form the lens, is about 400 μm–1, greater than that of the strongest molecular chiral dopants. We demonstrate imaging capabilities and measure the shape as well as the focal length of the chiral nanoparticle-doped liquid crystal lens. We show that measuring the shape of the lens allows one to calculate the helical pitch of the chiral nematic liquid crystal and thus determine the helical twisting power of the chiral ligand-capped nanoparticles. Such measurements require the use of only nanograms of chiral nanoparticles, which is 3 orders of magnitude less than that required by conventional techniques. Since NPs are sensitive to external stimuli such as light and electric and magnetic fields, the use of chiral NPs may allow the achievement of tunable optical properties for such microlens arrays.
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IJS, KILJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM
A plethora of living organisms are equipped with smart functionalities that are usually rooted in their surface micro/nanostructures or underlying muscle tissues. Inspired by nature, extensive ...research efforts have been devoted to the development of novel biomimetic functional micro/nanostructured systems. Despite all the accomplishments, the emulation of biological adaptation and stimuli responsive actuation has been a longstanding challenge. The use of liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) and networks (LCNs) for the fabrication of smart biomimetic micro/nanostructures has recently drawn extensive scientific attention and has become a growing field of research with promising prospects for emerging technologies. In this study, we review the recent progress in this field and portray the current challenges as well as the outlook of this field of research.
Liquid crystal elastomers and networks have become the materials of choice for the fabrication of bio-inspired micro/nanostructured surfaces.
Ferroelectric nematic liquid crystals represent not only fascinating, fundamental science, but they also hold promise for new technologies including high-density power storage or sub-millisecond ...switching information displays. In this work, we describe the synthesis and measurements of the physical properties of a new compound, 4-nitrophenyl 4-(2,4-dimethoxylbenzoyl)oxy-2-fluorobenzoate (RT11001). This material exhibits multiple, highly polar, ferroelectric nematic phases that have not been previously reported. We employ a wide range of physical characterisation methods including differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), mass density measurement, optical birefringence, polarising optical microscopy (POM), dielectric spectroscopy, electric current analysis, electro-optical switching, small-angle and wide-angle x-ray scattering measurements to show that RT11001 has multiple, distinct ferroelectric phases. We argue that the highest temperature phase is a polar nematic fluid with non-polar smectic clusters. Directly below appears to be a transition to another polar nematic phase containing polar positionally ordered clusters. Lastly, there are indications of an additional, polar biaxial liquid crystal phase at lower temperatures.
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BFBNIB, GIS, IJS, KISLJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM, UPUK
A simple process to clad conventional monofilament fibers with low‐molecular‐weight liquid crystals (LCs) stabilized by an outer polymer sheath is demonstrated. The fibers retain the responsive ...properties of the LCs but in a highly flexible/drapable format. The monofilament core makes these fibers much more rugged with a magnified response to external stimuli when compared to previously reported LC‐core fibers produced by electrospinning or airbrushing. The microscopic structure and the optical properties of round and flattened fibers are reported. The sensitivity of the response of individual fibers can be tuned over a broad range by varying the composition of the LCs. Complex fabrics can be easily woven from fibers that respond to different external stimuli, such as temperature variation, chemical concentrations, and pressure. The fabrics can be fashioned into garments that can sense and report the state of health of the wearer or the status of their environment.
The first successful incorporation of low‐molecular‐weight liquid crystals as a responsive cladding on conventional monofilament fibers is reported. The fibers can be easily woven into textiles and fashioned into garments that can sense and report factors such as temperature, pressure, and chemical vapor content.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
The layered liquid crystalline phases formed by DNA molecules, which include rigid and flexible segments (“gapped DNA”), enable the study of both end-to-end stacking and side-to-side (helix-to-helix) ...lateral interactions, forming a model system to study such interactions at physiologically relevant DNA and ion concentrations. The observed layer structure exhibits long-range interlayer and in-layer positional correlations. In particular, the in-layer order has implications for DNA condensation, as it reflects whether these normally repulsive interactions become attractive under certain ionic conditions. Using synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering measurements, we investigate the impact of divalent Mg2+ cations (in addition to a constant 150 mM Na+) on the stability of the inter- and in-layer DNA ordering as a function of temperature between 5 and 65 °C. DNA constructs with different terminal base pairings were created to mediate the strength of the attractive end-to-end stacking interactions between the blunt ends of the gapped DNA constructs. We demonstrate that the stabilities at a fixed DNA concentration of both interlayer and in-layer order are significantly enhanced even at a few mM Mg2+ concentration. The stabilities are even higher at 30 mM Mg2+; however, a marked decrease is observed at 100 mM Mg2+, suggesting a change in the nature of side-by-side interactions within this Mg2+ concentration range. We discuss the implications of these results in terms of counterion-mediated DNA–DNA attraction and DNA condensation.
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IJS, KILJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM
Polymorphism is a remarkable concept in chemistry, materials science, computer science, and biology. Whether it is the ability of a material to exist in two or more crystal structures, a single ...interface connecting to two different entities, or alternative phenotypes of an organism, polymorphism determines function and properties. In materials science, polymorphism can be found in an impressively wide range of materials, including crystalline materials, minerals, metals, alloys, and polymers. Here we report on polymorphism in a liquid crystal. A bent-core liquid crystal with a single chiral side chain forms two structurally and morphologically significantly different liquid crystal phases solely depending on the cooling rate from the isotropic liquid state. On slow cooling, the thermodynamically more stable oblique columnar phase forms, and on rapid cooling, a not heretofore reported helical microfilament phase. Since structure determines function and properties, the structural color for these phases also differs.
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