Systematic Fluorination Is a Powerful Design Strategy toward Fluid Molecular Ferroelectrics.

ABSTRACT: Ferroelectric nematic (N_F) liquid crystals combine liquid-like fluidity and orientational order of conventional nematics with macroscopic electric polarization comparable in magnitude to solid-state ferroelectric materials. Here, we present a systematic study of twenty-seven homologous materials with various fluorination patterns, giving new insight into the molecular origins of spontaneous polar ordering in fluid ferroelectric nematics. Beyond our initial expectations, we find the highest stability of the N_F phase to be in materials with specific fluorination patterns rather than the maximal fluorination, which might be expected based on simple models. We find a delicate balance between polar and apolar nematics, which is entirely dictated by the substitution of the

SUBMITTER: Gibb CJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11803714 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature