Novel BLT Sandwich Liquid Crystal II

Abstract

We have found the novel TGB phase in liquid crystal microemulsion for the first time. There exist both the lyotropic smectic liquid crystal order and the thermotropic nematic liquid crystal simultaneously in the same space. We call these types of new liquid crystal system as "Bilayer Lyotropic and Thermotropic(BLT) sandwich liquid crystal. Interplay between two liquid crystal orders can produce the long-range elastic interaction between supra-molecular aggregates and stabilizes the nano-structured liquid crystal systems.