ISIS Neutron and Muon Source Data Journal

Direct experimental observation of the layered structure of ferroelectric and antiferroelectric smectic liquid crystals by neutron reflectometry

Abstract: Longitudinally polar liquid crystals posses 3D orientational order coupled with unidirectional electric polarity, yielding fluid-like ferroelectrics with spontaneous polarizations comparable to solid state ferroelectrics. In the past year, multiple new polar lamellar phases have been discovered showing ferroelectric, anti-ferroelectric and more complex polar ordering. Despite research being in its infancy, possible applications for these fascinating new states of matter are already being suggested including non-linear optical devices, entangled photon generation and photo variable capacitors. As of yet, the specific structure of these phases is not particularly well understood prohibiting device optimisation for any application. Neutron reflectometry would allow the layered structure of these material to be probed directly, studying the polar orientation of the molecules, yielding a greater understanding of this new class of soft materials.

Principal Investigator: Dr Calum Jordan Gibb
Experimenter: Dr Richard Mandle
Local Contact: Dr Oleksandr Tomchuk
Experimenter: Dr Jordan Hobbs

DOI: 10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2510469

ISIS Experiment Number: RB2510469

Publisher: STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source

Data format: RAW/Nexus
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Data Citation

The recommended format for citing this dataset in a research publication is as:
[author], [date], [title], [publisher], [doi]

For Example:
Dr Calum Jordan Gibb et al; (2025): Direct experimental observation of the layered structure of ferroelectric and antiferroelectric smectic liquid crystals by neutron reflectometry, STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, https://doi.org/10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2510469

Data is released under the CC-BY-4.0 license.