Electrically induced transformation of cholesteric droplets under homeotropic boundary conditions

Mikhail N. Krakhalev*, Anna P. Gardymova, Vladimir Yu Rudyak, Vadim A. Barbashov, Victor Ya Zyryanov

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Cholesteric droplets under homeotropic boundary conditions demonstrate a rich variety of possible orientational structures. We have implemented electrically controlled switching of such droplets between two classes of stable states: i) structures with cylindrical cholesteric layers and ii) layer-like structures with one or more λ+1/2-disclinations. Structure relaxation after switching off the voltage proceeded via the fast (less than 1 s), the slow (more than 1 s), and the stabilization stages (∼10 hours). We investigated intermediate long-lived metastable states occurring in the relaxation process and explained the formation of various structures in cholesteric droplets. The fast and the slow stages of relaxation were found to be sensitive to the voltage reduction regime. We have determined the combinations of droplet size and voltage reduction regimes leading to the two types of structures after relaxation.

Original languageEnglish
Article number122379
JournalJournal of Molecular Liquids
Volume385
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Sep 2023
Externally publishedYes

Funding

FundersFunder number
Russian Science Foundation20-72-10038
Moscow State University of Geodesy and Cartography

    Keywords

    • Cholesteric droplet
    • Electric field
    • Orientational structure
    • Structure relaxation
    • Topological defect

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