Semi-permanent Fixation of Polarity in a Ferroelectric Columnar Liquid Crystal Phase by Crystallization

Abstract

Axially polar-ferroelectric columnar liquid crystals (AP-FCLCs) consist of axially polarized columnar aggregates arranged in parallel, in which their polar directions can be switched and maintained by application or removal of electric field. However, the realization of AP-FCLCs is challenging because the fluidity of the LCs prevents the polarization from maintaining for a long term. To solve this problem, we planned to realize a smooth transition system from the AP-FCLC to the crystal phase without changing the polar structure. As a result, we succeeded in realizing an AP-FCLC compound that transitions from the FCLC to crystal phase at room temperature while maintaining the polarization induced in the LC phase, which is expected to enable semi-permanent maintenance of polarization information.