Kaur, S, Panov, VP, Greco, C et al. (4 more authors) (2014) Flexoelectricity in an oxadiazole bent-core nematic liquid crystal. Applied Physics Letters, 105 (22). 223505. ISSN 0003-6951
Abstract
We have determined experimentally the magnitude of the difference in the splay and bend flexoelectric coefficients, |e1 - e3|, of an oxadiazole bent-core liquid crystal by measuring the critical voltage for the formation of flexodomains together with their wave number. The coefficient |e1 - e3| is found to be a factor of 2-3 times higher than in most conventional calamitic nematic liquid crystals, varying from 8 pCm-1 to 20 pCm-1 across the ∼60 K - wide nematic regime. We have also calculated the individual flexoelectric coefficients e1 and e3, with the dipolar and quadrupolar contributions of the bent-core liquid crystal by combining density functional theory calculations with a molecular field approach and atomistic modelling. Interestingly, the magnitude of the bend flexoelectric coefficient is found to be rather small, in contrast to common expectations for bent-core molecules. The calculations are in excellent agreement with the experimental values, offering an insight into how molecular parameters contribute to the flexoelectric coefficients and illustrating a huge potential for the prediction of flexoelectric behaviour in bent-core liquid crystals.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | Copyright (2014) American Institute of Physics. This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and the American Institute of Physics. The following article appeared in Applied Physics Letters, 105 (22), 223505, and may be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4903242 |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Physics and Astronomy (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 20 Jul 2015 16:00 |
Last Modified: | 24 Jan 2018 10:44 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4903242 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | AIP |
Identification Number: | 10.1063/1.4903242 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:86428 |