Flow-induced periodic chiral structures in an achiral nematic liquid crystal

Qing Zhang (), Weiqiang Wang, Shuang Zhou, Rui Zhang () and Irmgard Bischofberger ()
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Qing Zhang: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Weiqiang Wang: Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Shuang Zhou: University of Massachusetts Amherst
Rui Zhang: Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Irmgard Bischofberger: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Supramolecular chirality typically originates from either chiral molecular building blocks or external chiral stimuli. Generating chirality in achiral systems in the absence of a chiral input, however, is non-trivial and necessitates spontaneous mirror symmetry breaking. Achiral nematic lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals have been reported to break mirror symmetry under strong surface or geometric constraints. Here we describe a previously unrecognised mechanism for creating chiral structures by subjecting the material to a pressure-driven flow in a microfluidic cell. The chirality arises from a periodic double-twist configuration of the liquid crystal and manifests as a striking stripe pattern. We show that the mirror symmetry breaking is triggered at regions of flow-induced biaxial-splay configurations of the director field, which are unstable to small perturbations and evolve into lower energy structures. The simplicity of this unique pathway to mirror symmetry breaking can shed light on the requirements for forming macroscopic chiral structures.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43978-6

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