Ferroelectric-Ferroelastic Phase Transition in a Nematic Liquid Crystal
Sebastián, L. Cmok, R. J. Mandle, M. R. de la Fuente, I. Drevenšek Olenik, M. Čopič and A. Mertelj, Physical Review Letters, 2020, 124, 037801 DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.124.037801
Researchers from the Department for Complex Matter Jožef Stefan Institute Nerea Sebastián, Luka Cmok, Irena Drevenšek Olenik, Martin Čopič, and Alenka Mertelj have in collaboration with researchers from University of York, UK, and University of the Basque Country, Spain studied a recently designed splay nematic phase, which appears in materials made of polar wedge-shaped molecules. They showed that the transition between the uniaxial and the splay nematic phase is a ferroelectric-ferroelastic phase transition, in which flexoelectric coupling causes simultaneous occurrence of diverging behavior of electric susceptibility and of instability towards splay deformation. By SHG imaging, they determined the period of modulated splay phase to be 5-10 microns. This study was published in Physical Review Letters (10.1103/PhysRevLett.124.037801) and has been highlighted by the editors as Editors’ Suggestion.
Raziskovalci Odseka za kompleksne snovi Instituta “Jožef Stefan” Nerea Sebastián, Luka Cmok, Irena Drevenšek Olenik, Martin Čopič in Alenka Mertelj so skupaj s kolegi iz Univerze v Yorku iz Velike Britanije, in Univerze v Baskiji iz Španije preučili nedavno odkrito pahljačasto nematično fazo, ki se pojavi v snoveh zgrajenih iz močno polarnih molekul klinaste oblike. Pokazali so, da je fazni prehod iz nematične v pahljačasto nematično fazo feroelektrični-feroelastični fazni prehod, pri katerem fleksoelektrična sklopitev povzroči sočasno divergenco električne susceptibilnosti in nestabilnost na pahljačasto deformacijo. Z uporabo mikroskopije s podvojeno optično frequenco so izmerili, da je perioda modulirane pahljačaste faze 5 -10 mikronov. O tej raziskavi so poročali v reviji Physical Review Letters (10.1103/PhysRevLett.124.037801), kjer je bil članek prepoznan kot bolj pomemben, saj so ga editorji revije izbrali za Editors’ Suggestion.