Morphogenesis of liquid crystal topological defects during the nematic-smectic A phase transition

Min-Jun Gim, Daniel A. Beller and Dong Ki Yoon ()
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Min-Jun Gim: Graduate School of Nanoscience and Technology and KINC, KAIST
Daniel A. Beller: Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University
Dong Ki Yoon: Graduate School of Nanoscience and Technology and KINC, KAIST

Nature Communications, 2017, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract The liquid crystalline phases of matter each possess distinct types of defects that have drawn great interest in areas such as topology, self-assembly and material micropatterning. However, relatively little is known about how defects in one liquid crystalline phase arise from defects or deformations in another phase upon crossing a phase transition. Here, we directly examine defects in the in situ thermal phase transition from nematic to smectic A in hybrid-aligned liquid crystal droplets on water substrates, using experimental, theoretical and numerical analyses. The hybrid-aligned nematic droplet spontaneously generates boojum defects. During cooling, toric focal conic domains arise through a sequence of morphological transformations involving nematic stripes and locally aligned focal conic domains. This simple experiment reveals a surprisingly complex pathway by which very different types of defects may be related across the nematic–smectic A phase transition, and presents new possibilities for controlled deformation and patterning of liquid crystals.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15453

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