Switching mechanism in polar columnar mesophases made of bent-core molecules

TL;DR

This paper investigates the switching mechanisms in polar columnar phases of bent-core molecules under electric fields, revealing how the cross-section width influences monostable or bistable optical switching behavior.

Contribution

It identifies two distinct switching mechanisms in polar bent-core columnar phases and links their occurrence to the column cross-section width, advancing understanding of electro-optical behavior.

Findings

Two switching mechanisms: rotation around molecular axis and tilt cone

Monostable and bistable optical switching observed

Switching type depends on column cross-section width

Abstract

The behavior of polar columnar phases made of bent shaped molecules (B_1Rev and B_1RevTilted) was studied under applied electric field. There are two competing mechanisms of switching in polar B_1RevTilted columnar phase: the collective rotation around the long molecular axis and the collective rotation around the tilt cone. Respectively monostable and bistable optical switching is observed for antiferroelectric B_1RevTilted phase. The main factor discriminating the type of the switching is a width of the column cross-section.