Polar Switching in a Lyotropic Columnar Nematic Liquid Crystal Made of Bowl-Shaped Molecules.

Guilleme, Julia; Cavero, Emma; Sierra, Teresa; Ortega, Josu; Folcia, César L; Etxebarria, Jesus; Torres, Tomás; González-Rodríguez, David · Adv Mater · 2015

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

A polar response in a lyotropic columnar nematic material is reported. The material accommodates bowl-shaped molecules with strong axial dipole moments in column segments without head-to-tail invariance. Optical second-harmonic-generation methods confirm that the nematic columns align unidirectionally under an applied electric field and the material develops remnant macroscopic polarization observable for hours. The switching takes place by a flip of the columns.