Twist Grain Boundary Phases in Proper Ferroelectric Liquid Crystals Realm.

ABSTRACT: The twist-grain-boundary (TGB) phases, characterized by a periodic, helical arrangement of blocks made of polar smectic phases, SmA_F and SmC_F, have been discovered. They are observed for rod-like molecules with a strong longitudinal dipole moment, featuring an (S)-2-methylbutyl end group having only weak twisting power, and emerge below the antiferroelectric SmA_AF phase, where the lamellar structure is already well established. It is suggested that the structure is governed by electrostatic interactions amplified by weak chiral forces, in striking contrast to the mechanism of TGB phase formation found in non-polar materials. The TGB phases exhibit selective light reflection in the visible range, while the value of electric polarization confirms an almost pe

SUBMITTER: Pociecha D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12520520 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature