Magnetic Tilting in Nematic Liquid Crystals Driven by Self‐Assembly

Self-assembly is one of the crucial mechanisms allowing the design multifunctional materials. Soft hybrid materials contain components of different natures and exhibit competitive interactions which drive self-organization into structures of a particular function. Here a novel type of a magnetic hybrid material where the molecular tilt can be manipulated through a delicate balance between the topologically-assisted colloidal self-assembly of magnetic nanoparticles and the anisotropic molecular interactions in a liquid crystal matrix is demonstrated

Fluid fibres in true 3D ferroelectric liquids

We demonstrate an exceptional ability of a high-polarisation 3D ferroelectric liquid to form freely-suspended fluid fibres at room temperature. Unlike fluid threads in modulated smectics and columnar phases, where translational order is a prerequisite for forming liquid fibres, recently discovered ferroelectric nematic forms fibres with solely orientational molecular order. Additional stabilisation mechanisms based on the polar nature of the mesophase are required for this. We propose a model for such a mechanism and show that these fibres demonstrate an exceptional non-linear optical response and exhibit electric field-driven instabilities