Recently, Professor Satoshi Aya and his team from the School of Frontier Science of Soft Matter at South China University of Technology made a significant breakthrough in the field of ferroelectric liquid crystals. They identified and analyzed a novel electrophilic topology within liquid ferroelectric crystals. The findings were published in Nature Physics.
Polarization micrographs of helical ferroelectric nematic (HN*) liquid droplets reveal a novel and prevalent polarization topological structure, shedding light on intriguing dynamic processes under electric fields. Researchers investigate the coupling between polarization interactions and liquid crystal elasticity in various chemically structured ferroelectric liquid crystal materials. They elucidate the mechanism of polarization ring topology generation and electric field effects through theoretical analysis and numerical simulations.
Specifically, by introducing a small amount of chiral dopants into ferroelectric nematic (NF) liquid crystals, researchers successfully prepare helical ferroelectric nematic (HN*) liquid droplets and first observe the universally present periodic multivortex domain polarization ring topological structures. They employ an extended form of the Oseen-Frank theory model to elucidate that the key driving force for forming ring topology domain structures is the flexoelectric interaction.
This discovery demonstrates for the first time the uniqueness, reconfigurability, and designability of polarization structures in liquid ferroelectric materials, surpassing the limitations of traditional ferroelectric crystalline materials and deepening understanding of topology formation in ferroelectric liquid crystals. The findings also provide theoretical guidance and experimental foundations for developing new types of ferroelectric optoelectronic devices. Particularly, the unique contraction/expansion dynamic switching characteristics of ring polarization domains under ultra-low electric field offer new possibilities for the development of designable and switchable liquid ferroelectric optoelectronic devices.
The publication of this research breakthrough opens up new avenues for the study and application of ferroelectric liquid crystals, injecting fresh vitality into the field of polar soft matter. In the future, the research team will continue to explore more properties and applications of multivortex polarization ring topology in HN* droplets, aiming to achieve more innovative results in the field of ferroelectric materials.
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