In this study, the bent dimers were added in the azobenzene chiral doped cholesteric liquid crystals. The photoisomerization of azo-chiral material can induce a change in pitch and eventually lead to the occurrence of Helfrich deformation. Experimental results show that the photoinduced microgrid structure can be significantly stabilized by adding bent dimers and simultaneously applying a low voltage below the threshold of electric-induced Helfrich deformation. Furthermore, the spacing of the resulting meshed microgrids can be tuned by dimer concentration or applied voltage, revealing its potential for multiparameter controllable optical diffraction devices.
Self-assembled periodic micro-nanostructures triggered by responses to external influences often occur in anisotropic self-assembled supramolecular soft-matter systems (such as liquid crystal (LC) systems). However, these structures are often not easily to control or even change, e.g., orderliness of the structures. A pre-built 1D periodic microgroove structure on the planar cholesteric LC cell is used to study whether it can effectively improve the large-area order of the electro-induced 2D deformation structure. Experimental results show that the 2D microgrid structure caused by the Helfrich deformation of the CLC can be effectively controlled to be ordered macroscopically by the pre-built 1D periodic microgroove structure. Furthermore, the uniformity of the microgrid size is also improved. The findings enhance the potential applicability of the well-known Helfrich deformation phenomenon and provide an example for further control of periodic micro-nanostructures in self-assembled supramolecular systems.
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