HIERARCHICAL SELF-ASSEMBLY IN B4 PHASE MORPHOLOGIES CONTROLLED BY STRATEGICALLY PLACING CHIRAL CENTERS

The B4 phase is a unique example of self-assembly based on molecular conformation in bent-core liquid crystals (BCLCs). The phase forms due to an intra-layer mismatch between two molecular halves that can only be relieved by local saddle-splay deformations. We introduced the range of possible morphologies for the B4 phase from helical nanofilaments (HNFs) and modulated HNFmods to dual modulated HNFmod2s, helical microfilaments (HμFs), and heliconical-layered nanocylinders (HLNCs), particularly for asymmetric BCLCs with chiral centers in strategic positions in the aliphatic chains. The combined results reveal that the longer-arm of BCLCs controls the handedness of the filaments. Derivatives with opposite configurations of the two chiral side chains now feature twice as large dimensions compared to the homochiral derivatives with identical configurations. This result is supported by DFT calculations and stochastic dynamic atomistic simulations.