Article in Advanced Science (2024)

02 12 2024

Scientists from the Faculty of Chemistry at the University of Warsaw: Dr. Grant J. Strachan, Prof. Ewa Górecka, Dr. Jadwiga Szydłowska, Dr. Anna Makal, and Dr. Damian Pociecha, have synthesized a new  mesogenic compound that exhibits a unique sequence of four liquid crystal phases with increasing molecular order.

Owing to the high dipole moment of the molecules (> 13D), dipole-dipole interactions lead to the formation of ferroelectric properties in both, the nematic (liquid) and smectic (one-dimensional crystals) phases. Polar properties were established by recording the  spontaneous polarization switching current, ferroelectric ground state of the phases was also confirmed by their second harmonic generation (SHG) activity.

Ferroelectric soft phases, combining the characteristics of both liquids and solids, may found applications in various technological fields, such as electronics, telecommunications, and optoelectronics.

The research findings were published in the open access journal, Advanced Science: G. J. Strachan, E. Górecka, J. Szydłowska, A. Makal, D. Pociecha, Nematic and Smectic Phases with Proper Ferroelectric Order. Adv. Sci. 2024, 2409754. (https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202409754).
The research was conducted within the framework of the NCN OPUS project ‘Polarly ordered three-dimensional structures of soft matter’ (2021/43/B/ST5/00240).