US-12624288-B2 - Mixture including ferroelectric nematic phase and methods of forming and using same

Abstract

Material comprising a ferroelectric nematic phase, the material are disclosed. The material can include a mixture comprising first molecules and second molecules. At least one of a fluid of the first molecules and a fluid of the second molecules exhibits a ferroelectric nematic phase. The first molecules and second molecules are miscible. The first molecules can induce a polar orientational order of said second molecules.

Inventors

• Joseph E. Maclennan
• Noel A. Clark
• Matthew A. Glaser
• Xi Chen
• Gregory Smith

Assignees

• THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO, A BODY CORPORATE

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20220905

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A material comprising a ferroelectric nematic phase, the material comprising: a mixture comprising first molecules and second molecules, wherein at least one of a fluid of the first molecules and a fluid of the second molecules exhibits a ferroelectric nematic phase, wherein the first molecules and second molecules are miscible, and wherein the first molecules induce a polar orientational order of said second molecules.
2. 2 . The material of claim 1 , wherein the first molecules or the second molecules are chemically dissimilar.
3. 3 . The material of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first molecules or the second molecules comprise a halogen.
4. 4 . The material of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first molecules or the second molecules comprise a plurality of halogen atoms.
5. 5 . The material of claim 1 , wherein the first molecules each comprise a first backbone, a first molecule first end functional group and a first molecule second end functional group, and wherein the second molecules each comprise a second backbone, a second molecule first end functional group and a second molecule second end functional group.
6. 6 . The material of claim 5 , wherein the first backbone and the second backbone are chemically different.
7. 7 . The material of claim 5 , wherein the first molecule first end functional group differs from the second molecule first end functional group.
8. 8 . The material of claim 5 , wherein the first molecule second end functional group differs from the second molecule second end functional group.
9. 9 . The material of claim 5 , wherein one or more of the first molecule first end functional group, the second molecule first end functional group, the first molecule second end functional group, or the second molecule second end functional group comprises a halogen.
10. 10 . The material of claim 5 , wherein one or more of the first molecule first end functional group, the second molecule first end functional group, the first molecule second end functional group, and the second molecule second end functional group comprises at least one of an alkyl group and an alkoxy group.
11. 11 . The material of claim 5 , wherein at least one of the first backbone or the second backbone comprises 3 or 4 ring structures or at least one linker group.
12. 12 . The material of claim 11 , wherein the ring structures are selected from the group consisting of a phenyl ring, a cyclohexane ring, a dioxane ring, a thiophene ring, a monoxane ring, a pyridine ring, a pyrimidine ring, and any other heterocyclic group.
13. 13 . The material of claim 1 , wherein the first and second molecules exhibit a similar charge distribution.
14. 14 . The material of claim 1 , further comprising one or more additional molecules miscible within the mixture.
15. 15 . A non-linear optic material comprising the material of claim 1 .
16. 16 . A method of forming a material having a tunable ferroelectric nematic phase, the method comprising: mixing of first molecules and second molecules to form a mixture having a ferroelectric nematic phase, wherein the first molecules induce a polar orientational order of said second molecules.
17. 17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the first and second molecules are chemically dissimilar.
18. 18 . The method of claim 16 , wherein at least one of the first molecules or the second molecules comprises a halogen.
19. 19 . The method of claim 16 , wherein at least one of the first molecules or the second molecules each comprise a plurality of halogen atoms.
20. 20 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the first molecules each comprise a first backbone, a first molecule first end functional group and a first molecule second end functional group, and wherein the second molecules each comprise a second backbone, a second molecule first end functional group and a second molecule second end functional group.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a 371 U.S. national stage entry of PCT Application Serial No. PCT/US2022/042586, filed Sep. 5, 2022, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/240,666 filed on Sep. 3, 2021, and also claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/278,039 filed on Nov. 10, 2021, each of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. FEDERALLY-SPONSORED RESEARCH This invention was made with government support under grant numbers DMR2005270, DNR1710711 and DMR1420736, awarded by the National Science Foundation. The government has certain rights in the invention. FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE The present disclosure generally relates to material comprising a ferroelectric nematic phase. More particularly, the disclosure relates to material comprising a mixture comprising a ferroelectric nematic phase, to methods of forming the material, and to devices including the material. BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE Ferroelectricity in liquids was predicted in the 1910s by P. Debye and M. Born, who applied the Langevin-Weiss model of ferromagnetism to the orientational ordering of molecular electric dipoles. Recently, interest in nematic ferroelectricity has gained interest. Nematic ferroelectricity presents opportunities for novel liquid crystal science and technology thanks to its unique combination of macroscopic polar ordering and fluidity. The ferroelectric nematic (NF) phase of RM734 shows a rapid electro-optic response at high temperature in the NF range but exhibits crystallization and a viscosity that grows strongly on slow cooling. The room temperature NF phase that is obtained by quenching, on the other hand, is glassy. Accordingly, improved materials that exhibit nematic ferroelectricity are generally desirable. Any discussion of problems and solutions set forth in this section has been included in this disclosure solely for the purpose of providing a context for the present disclosure and should not be taken as an admission that any or all of the discussion was known at the time the invention was made. SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts. This summary is not intended to necessarily identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Embodiments of the disclosure relate to a material comprising a ferroelectric nematic phase. The material can include a mixture comprising first molecules and second molecules, wherein at least one of a fluid of the first molecules and a fluid of the second molecules exhibits a ferroelectric nematic phase, wherein the first molecules and second molecules are miscible, and wherein the first molecules induce a polar orientational order of said second molecules. In accordance with examples of these embodiments, the first molecules and the second molecules are chemically dissimilar. In this context, chemically dissimilar can be defined by molecular similarity coefficients S computed from molecular topology-based fingerprints (vector representations of chemical structures). Pairs of distinct molecules with S<0.33 are highly dissimilar and pairs with S>0.8 are highly similar. A widely used measure of chemical similarity is the Dice similarity coefficient computed from the extended-connectivity (Morgan) fingerprint [D. Rogers and M. Hahn, J. Chem. Inf. and Model. 50, 742-754 (2010)]. Based on this similarity measure, RM734 and DIO are highly dissimilar (S=0.29), whereas all binary mixtures of rod-shaped molecules exhibiting a ferroelectric nematic phase reported previously consist of first and second molecules that are highly similar (S>0.85). In accordance with examples, chemically dissimilar can be S<0.75, 0.5, 0.33, or 0.3. In accordance with further examples, at least one of the first molecules and the second molecules comprise a halogen. In accordance with further examples, at least one of the first molecules and the second molecules do not comprise a halogen. In some cases, at least one of the first molecules and the second molecules can include a plurality of halogen atoms. In accordance with further examples of the disclosure, the first molecules each comprise a first backbone, a first molecule first end functional group and a first molecule second end functional group, and the second molecules each comprise a second backbone, a second molecule first end functional group and a second molecule second end functional group. In some cases, the (e.g., chemical structure of the) first backbone and the second backbone differ. Additionally or alternatively, the first molecule first end functional group differs from the second molecule first end functional group and/or the first molecule second end functional group differs from the second molecule second end functional group. One or more of the end groups can include a halogen (such as fluorine), an alkyl