Unusual behaviour of new cholesteric liquid crystals with extremely short pitch under the applied electric field

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New lactic acid derivatives have been prepared and studied and found that they form cholesteric phase with the helix pitch length in interval 120–200 nm within a broad temperature range. Due to the positive dielectric anisotropy and the short pitch, the applied electric field causes reversible optical changes in planar cell, in which the applied electric field reorients the long molecular axis. Presence of short pitch and possibility to effectively affect electro-optical properties are promising from the point of view of specific applications.

Texture of the cholesteric liquid crystal
Description
Texture of the cholesteric liquid crystal in applied electric field. In the inset the chemical formula of the studied compounds is present.

Contact person: Vladimíra Novotná