A Lyotropic Chiral Smectic C Liquid Crystal with Polar Electrooptic Switching

Abstract

A lyotropic analogue of the ferroelectric smectic C* phase has been found. The lyotropic smectic C* phase shows macroscopic chirality effects, such as a helical ground state and polarity-dependent electrooptic switching, thus indicating the presence of a spontaneous electric polarization. The helicity implies communication of the chiral director twist across the achiral solvent layers separating adjacent layers of the chiral mesogens. As a service to our authors and readers, this journal provides supporting information supplied by the authors. Such materials are peer reviewed and may be re-organized for online delivery, but are not copy-edited or typeset. Technical support issues arising from supporting information (other than missing files) should be addressed to the authors. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.