Protocol development for the real-space observation of topological defects in liquid crystals

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K13862
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Biological physics/Chemical physics/Soft matter physics
• Research Institution: Osaka University
• Principal Investigator: Yoshida Hiroyuki 大阪大学, 工学研究科, 助教 (80550045)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): NISHI Ryuji 大阪大学, 超高圧電子顕微鏡センター, 准教授 (40243183) ; KUWAHARA Ryusuke 沖縄科学技術大学院大学, 量子波光学顕微鏡ユニット, スタッフサイエンティスト (90589649)
• Research Collaborator: OHKAWA Takuma 大阪大学, 大学院工学研究科 ; TAKAHASHI Misaki 大阪大学, 大学院工学研究科
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 液晶 / ソフトマター物理 / 転傾 / 配向欠陥

Outline of Final Research Achievements

A protocol to observe defects in the alignment of liquid crystals in real space and with high resolution was proposed. Two types of photopolymerizable monomers were employed to prepare a film with the liquid crystal alignment preserved, and observations were made using a transmission electron microscope (TEM). Although the employed materials did not give rise to a satisfactory contrast in the TEM, the proposed protocol enabled the fabrication of films with well-preserved liquid crystal alignment. Improvement of materials should therefore enable real-space observation of liquid crystal defects with a resolution well beyond that possible with the current optical observation methods.

Free Research Field

ソフトマター物理、光学