Synthesis and Characterization of Ferroelectric Liquid Crystals

在有机动力学计划、 固态化学与聚合物 计划，材料研究部，博士沃尔巴将研究 铁电材料的设计、合成和表征 液晶（FLC），一类新的热稳定的， 有序有机材料综合努力的目标 被设计成具有用于光子器件的有用特性， 例如，在一个实施例中，快速切换、高分辨率和高对比度FLC 光阀和超快非线性光学器件。具体 项目包括：（一）合成手性 氟代烷基苯甲酸酯和阻转异构的FLC， 评价其FLC性能;（ii）合成和评价- 新型FLC薄膜的非线性光学特性 (iii)FLC部件的经验力场建模（即， 结合位点模型的计算机化）;（iv）极化- 灵敏的红外光谱研究FLC自组装在 薄膜 虽然强大的区域和立体控制技术 有机合成和构象分析提供了相当多的 对宪法和空间关系的控制 有机分子中的原子，新的定向设计 材料（即，分子聚集体）， 原子功能阵列之间的关系是一个令人兴奋的 化学前沿该项目的一个重要目标是 在铁电体中发生的自组装的优点 液晶（FLC）以受控和通用的方式创建 具有化学稳定性的有机材料 极序考虑到这一目标， 分子水平起源的立体化学模型 极性顺序发生在FLCs的开发和测试通过一个 研究计划，侧重于设计， 新型FLC材料的合成和表征。

With support from both the Organic Dynamics Program, Division of Chemistry and the Solid State Chemistry and Polymers Program, Division of Materials Research, Dr. Walba will study the design, synthesis, and characterization of ferroelectric liquid crystals (FLC), a new class of thermodynamically stable, ordered organic materials. The targets of the synthetic effort are designed to possess useful properties for photonic devices, e.g., fast-switching, high resolution and high contrast FLC light valves and ultrafast nonlinear optical devices. Specific projects include the following: (i) synthesis of chiral fluorinated alkylbenzoates and atropisomeric FLCs and evaluation of their FLC properties; (ii) synthesis and evalua- tion of the nonlinear optical properties of new FLC films; (iii) empirical force field modelling of FLC components (i.e., computerization of the binding site model); (iv) polarization- sensitive IR spectroscopic studies of the FLC self assembly in thin films. While the powerful techniques of regio- and sterocontrolled organic synthesis and conformational analysis give considerable control over the constitution and spatial relationships between atoms in organic molecules, the directed design of new materials (i.e., molecular aggregates) with specific geometric relationships between functional arrays of atoms is an exciting frontier in chemistry. An important goal of this project takes advantage of the self-assembly that occurs in ferroelectric liquid crystals (FLCs) to create in a controlled and general manner organic materials that possess thermodynamically stable polar order. With this objective in mind, a simple stereochemical model for the molecular level origins of the polar order that occurs in FLCs is developed and tested via a program of research that focusses upon the design, synthesis, and characterization of new FLC materials.