Polar Molecular Organisation in Liquid Crystals

TL;DR

This paper explores the molecular mechanisms behind polar self-organisation in various liquid crystal phases, emphasizing molecular symmetries, interactions, and their relation to electric polarization and chirality.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of polar ordering mechanisms in liquid crystals, distinguishing between vector and pseudovector polarities, and relates these to molecular symmetries and interactions.

Findings

Different types of polar order are characterized and quantified.

Relations between molecular symmetry, chirality, and polar order are established.

Insights may guide the design of new polar liquid crystal materials.

Abstract

Various possibilities of polar self-organisation in low molar mass nematic, smectic and columnar liquid crystals are discussed with particular focus on the underlying molecular symmetries and interactions. Distinction is made between vector and pseudovector polarities, their quantification in terms of molecular order parameters and their relation to spontaneous electric polarisation and to molecular chirality. The understanding of the molecular mechanisms that give rise to polar ordering in existing lamellar and columnar phases may be useful for the design of new polar variants of common a-polar liquid crystals. Keywords:Polar Nematics; Ferroelectric Liquid Crystals; Polar Ordering.