• Featured in Physics

Double Twist in Helical Polymer “Soft” Crystals

Christopher Y. Li, Stephen Z. D. Cheng, Jason J. Ge, Feng Bai, John Z. Zhang, Ian K. Mann, Frank W. Harris, Lang-Chy Chien, Donghang Yan, Tianbai He, and Bernard Lotz
Phys. Rev. Lett. 83, 4558 – Published 29 November 1999
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Abstract

In natural and synthetic materials having non-racemic chiral centers, chirality and structural ordering each play a distinct role in the formation of ordered states. Configurational chirality can be extended to morphological chirality when the phase structures possess low liquid crystalline order. In the crystalline states the crystallization process suppresses the chiral helical morphology due to strong ordering interactions. In this Letter, we report the first observation of helical single lamellar crystals of synthetic non-racemic chiral polymers. Experimental evidence shows that the molecular chains twist along both the long and short axes of the helical lamellar crystals, which is the first time a double-twist molecular orientation in a helical crystal has been observed.

  • Received 12 July 1999

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.83.4558

©1999 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Christopher Y. Li, Stephen Z. D. Cheng*, Jason J. Ge, Feng Bai, John Z. Zhang, Ian K. Mann, and Frank W. Harris

  • The Maurice Morton Institute and Department of Polymer Science, The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio 44325-3909

Lang-Chy Chien

  • Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44010-0001

Donghang Yan and Tianbai He

  • Polymer Physics Laboratory, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Science, Changchun, Jilin 130022, China

Bernard Lotz

  • Institute Charles Sadron, 6 Rue Boussingault, Strasbourg 67083, France

  • *To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email address: cheng@polymer.uakron.edu

See Also

A Crystal with a Twist

Phys. Rev. Focus 4, 27 (1999)

References (Subscription Required)

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Issue

Vol. 83, Iss. 22 — 29 November 1999

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