{"database":"biostudies-literature","file_versions":[],"scores":null,"additional":{"submitter":["Neirynck J"],"funding":["Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO)","PhD Strategic Basic Research grant of the Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO)","FWO Postdoctoral Fellowship (Research Foundation - Flanders)"],"pagination":["e2414675"],"full_dataset_link":["https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC11938017"],"repository":["biostudies-literature"],"omics_type":["Unknown"],"volume":["37(12)"],"pubmed_abstract":["In liquid crystal (LC) cells, the surface patterning directs the self-assembly of the uniaxial building blocks in the bulk, enabling the design of stimuli-response optical devices with various functionalities. The combination of different anchoring patterns at both substrates can lead to surface induced frustration, preventing a purely planar and defect-free configuration. In cells with crossed assembly of rotating anchoring patterns, elastic deformations allow to obtain a defect-free bulk configuration, but an electrical stimulus can induce disclination lines. The disclination network is preserved without applied voltage. Depending on the electric field treatment and geometrical parameters, different multi-stable states with and without disclinations are obtained. This is demonstrated with the help of dual-frequency LCs, for which the frequency dependent dielectric properties allow repeatable switching between multi-stable states. Topological protection and the associated energy barrier between different states explains the observed metastability. The obtained configurations are retrieved with Q-tensor simulations and the validity is confirmed by matching optical simulations with experimentally obtained microscopy images. The realized multi-stable topological states interact differently with light, resulting in distinct optical properties. Optimization allows to switch between a highly transparent state and an opaque state, opening up opportunities for smart windows with low energy consumption."],"journal":["Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)"],"pubmed_title":["Electrically Switchable Multi-Stable Topological States Enabled by Surface-Induced Frustration in Nematic Liquid Crystal Cells."],"pmcid":["PMC11938017"],"funding_grant_id":["1SHF924N","G0C2121N","1257423N"],"pubmed_authors":["Stebryte M","Nys I","Hsiao YT","Neirynck J"],"additional_accession":[]},"is_claimable":false,"name":"Electrically Switchable Multi-Stable Topological States Enabled by Surface-Induced Frustration in Nematic Liquid Crystal Cells.","description":"In liquid crystal (LC) cells, the surface patterning directs the self-assembly of the uniaxial building blocks in the bulk, enabling the design of stimuli-response optical devices with various functionalities. The combination of different anchoring patterns at both substrates can lead to surface induced frustration, preventing a purely planar and defect-free configuration. In cells with crossed assembly of rotating anchoring patterns, elastic deformations allow to obtain a defect-free bulk configuration, but an electrical stimulus can induce disclination lines. The disclination network is preserved without applied voltage. Depending on the electric field treatment and geometrical parameters, different multi-stable states with and without disclinations are obtained. This is demonstrated with the help of dual-frequency LCs, for which the frequency dependent dielectric properties allow repeatable switching between multi-stable states. Topological protection and the associated energy barrier between different states explains the observed metastability. The obtained configurations are retrieved with Q-tensor simulations and the validity is confirmed by matching optical simulations with experimentally obtained microscopy images. The realized multi-stable topological states interact differently with light, resulting in distinct optical properties. Optimization allows to switch between a highly transparent state and an opaque state, opening up opportunities for smart windows with low energy consumption.","dates":{"release":"2025-01-01T00:00:00Z","publication":"2025 Mar","modification":"2025-07-05T03:04:51.877Z","creation":"2025-07-05T03:04:51.877Z"},"accession":"S-EPMC11938017","cross_references":{"pubmed":["39797473"],"doi":["10.1002/adma.202414675"]}}