Electric field induced interfacial instability in a ferroelectric nematic liquid crystal

ORAL

Abstract

The investigation of the external magnetic or electric fields induced surface instabilities in fluids are not only interesting and spectacular but also a widely used part of physics, like the electric field induced Rayleigh instability which is the basic mechanism of electrospinning. After the recent discovery of polar nematic materials, which have a ferroelectric nematic phase, an obvious question arises: Can a new type of electric field driven surface instability be observed in these materials? We investigated the response of a ferroelectric nematic liquid crystal to electric fields in various geometries. In our experiments, we observed pattern formation as a consequence of an electric field induced surface instability. We characterize the effect and provide a model to explain the basic mechanism of the pattern formation observed in ferroelectric nematic droplets with free surface exposed to electric fields.

*The authors thank the financial support of the grants NKFIH FK142643 and NSF DMR-2210083.

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Publication: M. Mathé, B. Farkas, L.Péter, Á. Buka, A. Jákli, P. Salamon, Electric field induced interfacial instability in a ferroelectric nematic liquid crystal (palnned paper)

Presenters

  • Marcell T Máthé

    • Wigner Reserach Cnetre for Physics
    • Wigner Research Centre for Physics

Authors

  • Marcell T Máthé

    • Wigner Reserach Cnetre for Physics
    • Wigner Research Centre for Physics

  • Antal Jakli

    • Kent State University
    • Materials Science Graduate Program, Kent State University, Kent OH, 44242, USA Department of Physics, Kent State University, Kent OH, 44242, USA
    • Materials Science Graduate Program, Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University, Kent OH, 44242, USA, Department of Physics, Kent State University
    • Department of Physics, Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University
    • Kent State Univerity

  • Agnes Buka

    • Wigner Research Centre for Physics

  • Peter Salamon

    • Wigner Research Centre for Physics

  • László Péter

    • Wigner Reasearch Centre for Physics

  • Bendegúz Farkas

    • Wigner Reasearch Centre for Physics