We report structural studies of a T-shaped mesogenic molecule. Upon cooling from the isotropic, the molecules first form a lamellar phase, with the molecular tails organized into sheets and the head groups isotropic in the plane of the lamellae. On further cooling, the head groups self-assemble into phases with 2D nematic and smectic order. The 2D smectic has only short-range positional correlations, with dislocations in the layering. The development of the 2D smectic reduces the long-range correlations of the fundamental lamellar structure, with the system evolving into a biaxial nematic with the T-shaped molecules ordered in three dimensions but with only short-range correlations.
*This work was supported by NSF MRSEC Grant DMR-0820579 and by NSF Grant DMR-1008300.
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Authors
D. Chen
Department of Physics and Liquid Crystal Materials Research Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0390, USA
D.A. Coleman
Department of Physics and Liquid Crystal Materials Research Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0390, USA
C. Zhu
Department of Physics and Liquid Crystal Materials Research Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0390, USA
N. Chattham
Department of Physics and Liquid Crystal Materials Research Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0390, USA
X. Cheng
Institute of Organic Chemistry, Martin-Luther-University, D-06108, Halle, Germany
C. Tschierske
Institute of Organic Chemistry, Martin-Luther-University, D-06108, Halle, Germany
J.E. Maclennan
Department of Physics and Liquid Crystal Materials Research Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0390, USA
M.A. Glaser
Department of Physics and Liquid Crystal Materials Research Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0390, USA
N.A. Clark
Department of Physics and Liquid Crystal Materials Research Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0390, USA
