Liquid crystal blue phases: stability, field effects and alignment
Liquid crystal blue phases: stability, field effects and alignment
复制标题
DOI：
10.1080/02678292.2014.1002821
复制
发表时间：
2015-03
期刊：
影响因子：
2.2
通讯作者：
H. Gleeson;R. Miller;L. Tian;V. Görtz;J. Goodby
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
H. Gleeson;R. Miller;L. Tian;V. Görtz;J. Goodby
蓝色相是液晶中令人着迷的结构，液晶是具有真正晶体有序的立方体结构的流体。蓝色相在20世纪70年代被发现，并在80年代成为广泛研究的主题，当时人们对它们的许多性质有了深刻的了解。蓝色相可以在很宽的温度范围内稳定存在，这一发现意味着它们不仅仅是科学上的好奇，而且导致了最近对它们的研究的复苏，因为它们提供了一些应用前景。本文讨论了蓝相的一些重要方面，这些都是它们研究中反复出现的话题。它描述了影响蓝相稳定性的因素，展示了弯曲弹性常数的作用；场效应，包括克尔效应、电致伸缩和弛豫现象；以及取向，特别是蓝相单区的产生和控制。这些现象依赖于液晶体系的物理性质，包括扭转和弯曲弹性常数和介电各向异性，尽可能地强调。这篇论文将20世纪80年代开展的工作与当代研究联系起来，用几个关键的例子来说明这个美丽的主题仍然有很多需要理解的地方。
The blue phases are fascinating structures in liquid crystals, fluids that exhibit cubic structures that have true crystalline order. The blue phases were discovered in the 1970s and were the subject of extensive research in the 1980s, when a deep understanding of many of their properties was established. The discovery that the blue phases could be stabilised to exist over wide temperature ranges meant that they became more than scientific curiosities and led to a recent resurgence in research into them as they offer some promise in applications. This paper considers some important aspects of the blue phases that are recurrent topics in their research. It describes factors affecting blue phase stability, demonstrating on the role of the bend elastic constant; field effects, including the Kerr effect, electrostriction and relaxation phenomena; and alignment, in particular production and control of blue phase monodomains. The dependence of these phenomena on the physical properties of the liquid crystalline system, including the twist and bend elastic constants and the dielectric anisotropy, is emphasised wherever possible. The paper links work carried out in the 1980s with contemporary research, using a few key examples to show how there is still much to understand in this beautiful topic.