Abstract
Introducing photochromic or polymeric dopants into
nematic liquid crystals is a well-established method to
create stimuli-responsive photonic materials with the
ability to "control light with light". Herein, we
demonstrate a new material design concept by showing that
specific supramolecular interactions between the host
liquid crystal and the guest dopants enhance the optical
performance of the doped liquid crystals. By varying the
type and strength of the dopant-host interaction, the
phase-transition temperature, the order parameter of the
guest molecules, and the diffraction signal in response
to interference irradiation, can be accurately
engineered. Our concept points out the potential of
supramolecular interactions in liquid-crystal photonics,
being valuable for optimizing the design of dye-doped
functional liquid-crystalline systems.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 40237-40242 |
| Journal | RSC Advances |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue number | 64 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2017 |
| MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |
Funding
This work is funded by the Academy of Finland (decision numbers 277091 and 312628) and the Emil Aaltonen foundation, whose support A. P. gratefully acknowledges. J. V. acknowledges the Academy of Finland and Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships Program for generous postdoctoral funding. We are thankful to CSC–IT Center for Science Ltd., administered by the Finnish Ministry of Education, for providing the computing resources for this work.