Synergistic self-assembly of rod-like monomers in blue phase liquid crystal for tunable optical properties

The fluid lattice nanostructure of blue phase liquid crystals (BPLCs) has become a subject of interest in field of soft matter research particularly in electro-optic devices, photonic crystals, 3D lasers, and sensors. The thermal instability of BPs however limits the broadening of practical applications and is addressed via polymerization of the blue phase system. Employing monomers with different composition, shape, and functional groups affect thermal stabilization capabilities of the polymerized blue phases. A fundamental understanding of the synergistic self-assembly behavior of monomers in BP lattice prior to polymerization can provide insights not only into soft crystal growth and crystal transformations but also to the tunability of their optical properties. Here, we control the reactive monomer composition in the BPs to elucidate the correlation between molecular self-assembly and stability of BPI, BPII with different lattice parameters before polymerization. The self-assembly behavior of rod-like mesogenic monomers in BP lattices is evaluated under a homogeneous hybrid cell and directed self-assembly approach. The reported mechanism of mesogenic monomer synergistic self-assembly in BPs provides the ability to modulate the photonic band gap of BP liquid crystals.