Smectic Layer Origami via Preprogrammed Photoalignment

Ling-Ling Ma; Ming-Jie Tang; Wei Hu; Ze-Qun Cui; Shi-Jun Ge; Peng Chen; Lu-Jian Chen; Hao Qian; Li-Feng Chi; Yan-Qing Lu

doi:10.1002/adma.201606671

Smectic Layer Origami via Preprogrammed Photoalignment

Adv Mater. 2017 Apr;29(15). doi: 10.1002/adma.201606671. Epub 2017 Feb 10.

Authors

Ling-Ling Ma¹, Ming-Jie Tang¹, Wei Hu¹, Ze-Qun Cui², Shi-Jun Ge¹, Peng Chen¹, Lu-Jian Chen³, Hao Qian⁴, Li-Feng Chi², Yan-Qing Lu¹

Affiliations

¹ National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures and College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093, China.
² Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials, Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, China.
³ Department of Electronic Engineering, School of Information Science and Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Materials Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, 210009, China.

PMID: 28185330
DOI: 10.1002/adma.201606671

Abstract

Hierarchical architecture is of vital importance in soft materials. Focal conic domains (FCDs) of smectic liquid crystals, characterized by an ordered lamellar structure, attract intensive attention. Simultaneously tailoring the geometry and clustering characteristics of FCDs remains a challenge. Here, the 3D smectic layer origami via a 2D preprogrammed photoalignment film is accomplished. Full control of hierarchical superstructures is demonstrated, including the domain size, shape, and orientation, and the lattice symmetry of fragmented toric FCDs. The unique symmetry breaking of resultant superstructures combined with the optical anisotropy of the liquid crystals induces an intriguing polarization-dependent diffraction. This work broadens the scientific understanding of self-assembled soft materials and may inspire new opportunities for advanced functional materials and devices.

Keywords: origami; photoalignment; smectic focal conic domains; superstructures.