Double helical structure of the twist-bend nematic phase investigated by resonant X-ray scattering at the carbon and sulfur K-edges.

Salamończyk, Mirosław; Mandle, Richard J; Makal, Anna; Liebman-Peláez, Alexander; Feng, Jun; Goodby, John W; Zhu, Chenhui · Soft Matter · 2018

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

The mesogenic dimer displaying nematic and NTB phases was investigated by resonant X-ray scattering at both C and S absorption K-edges and supported by single X-ray crystallography. In the crystal resonant studies revealed the forbidden reflection in non-resonant diffraction similar to that found in the NTB phase. The lack of a second harmonic in both C and S resonant X-ray scattering supports the double helical structure of the twist-bend nematic phase.