Tetrahedral Order in Liquid Crystals

TL;DR

This paper reviews how tetrahedral order influences the macroscopic behavior of bent-core liquid crystals, comparing it with other orders, and explores the effects of electric fields and phase transitions.

Contribution

It presents hydrodynamic equations for phases with tetrahedral order, including combined tetrahedral and nematic phases, and discusses experimental implications.

Findings

Electric fields induce nematic order linearly with field strength.

Tetrahedral order can transition to polar phases under strong electric fields.

Various symmetry phases of tetrahedral liquid crystals are characterized.

Abstract

We review the impact of tetrahedral order on the macroscopic dynamics of bent-core liquid crystals. We discuss tetrahedral order comparing with other types of orientational order, like nematic, polar nematic, polar smectic, and active polar order. In particular, we present hydrodynamic equations for phases, where only tetrahedral order exists or tetrahedral order is combined with nematic order. Among the latter we discriminate between three cases, where the nematic director (a) orients along a 4-fold, or (b) along a 3-fold symmetry axis of the tetrahedral structure. For the optically isotropic T_d phase, which only has tetrahedral order, we focus on the coupling of flow with e.g. temperature gradients and on the specific orientation behavior in external electric fields. For the transition to the nematic phase, electric fields lead to a temperature shift that is linear in the field strength. Electric fields induce nematic order, again linear in the field strength. If strong enough, electric fields can change the tetrahedral structure and symmetry leading to a polar phase. We briefly deal with the T phase that arises when tetrahedral order occurs in a system of chiral molecules. To case (a) belong (i) the non-polar, achiral, optically uniaxial D2d phase with ambidextrous helicity and with orientational frustration in external fields, (ii) the non-polar tetragonal S4 phase, (iii) the non-polar, orthorhombic D2 phase that is structurally chiral featuring ambidextrous chirality, (iv) the polar orthorhombic C2v phase, and (v) the polar monoclinic C2 phase. Case (b) results in a trigonal C3v phase that behaves like a biaxial polar nematic phase. Finally we discuss some experiments that show typical effects related to the existence of tetrahedral order.