Figure 6: Model of molecular organization in large-pore 7O.5*/HNF network domains.
From: Diastereomeric liquid crystal domains at the mesoscale
(a,b) The HNF network is approximated as an array of sheets of HNFs separated by pore dimension p. For the case of 7O.5*, the pore is filled by guest mesogens preferring a right-handed twist of director n(r), with a pitch ∼300 nm. The structure adopted by n(r) in the pore is determined by the strong nanoheterogeneous anchoring on the HNF surfaces, which reflects the HNF chirality, as in (c), but, in the larger pores, anneals to a soft, chiral anchoring potential of the form W(ψ)=Wosin(2ψ) on each surface. The functional dependence of W(ψ) on ψ is represented by 2 × 2 checkerboards, where quadrants in ψ with minima (maxima) in ψ are shaded (unshaded). Minimizing W(ψ) by orienting n(r) near the HNF surfaces in the shaded quadrants leads to a macroscopic, optical manifestation of the diastereomeric nature of the system, giving Δn>0 and Δn<0 respectively in the (R,R) and (L,R) cases. (c) The overall guest/HNF Δn is a uniaxial spatial average of the distribution f(θ) of tilts of the local n(r) from the mean HNF axis, z.
