This talk describes some recent advances in liquid crystals, showing a few of the exciting new areas being examined. These include fluid systems that exhibit ferroelectricity and antiferroelectricity in which resonant x-ray scattering played a vital part in understanding the structure1. We recently reported a very new soft matter system, which undergoes a remarkable field-induced change in refractive index while remaining optically isotropic2. Our current experiments at the ESRF aim to understand the structural changes that are taking place in this system, leading to these amazing physical properties. The discoveries taking place in the liquid crystals suggest possibilities for future directions as diverse as sensors for the perishable goods supply chain and switchable contact lenses ; these will be discussed briefly.

Representative Publications

1. H F Gleeson and L S Hirst, ‘Resonant x-ray scattering : a tool for structure elucidation in liquid crystals.’ Invited minireview, ChemPhysChem 7 321-328 (2006) ; P. Barois, R. Pindak, C.C. Huang and H Gleeson, ‘Application of x-ray resonant diffraction to structural studies of liquid crystals’, European Physical Journal Special Topics, 208 333-350 (2012) 2. M Nagaraj, V Görtz J W Goodby and H F Gleeson, ‘Electrically Tuneable Refractive Index in the Dark Conglomerate Phase of a Bent-Core Liquid Crystal’, Applied Physics Letters 104(2) 021903 2014 ; M Nagaraj, K Usami, Z Zhang, V Görtz J W Goodby and H F Gleeson, ‘Electric Field Driven Deracemization and Field Induced Enantiomeric State in the Dark Conglomerate Phase of a Bent-Core Liquid Crystal’, Liquid Crystals (2014)

Contact : eva.jahn@esrf.fr