Cholesteric liquid crystals are chiral systems which possess a spontaneously formed helical structure with the pitch in micron range which is important for various applications in optics and nanophotonics. In recent years the interest has shifted in the direction of lyotropic cholesterics which are the solutions of various chiral macromolecules, viruses or chiral nanocrystals. These systems are important for biology (for example, cholesteric states of DNA) and also provide some very useful natural anisotropic chiral materials.

Among the most interesting resources to explore are cellulose and chitin, key biopolymers in the plant and animal world, respectively. Both have excellent mechanical properties and  can be extracted as nanorods with high degree of crystallinity.Both are also chiral. Molecular chirality of such nanorods is amplified into a helically modulated long-range ordered cholesteric liquid crystal phase when they are suspended in water.

The aim of this project is to develop a molecular-statistical theory of chirality transfer in cholecteric nanorod phase, determined by steric and electrostatic chiral interactions, and quantitatively describe the variation of helix pitch as a function of rod length, concentration, dispersity and temperature. The theory will be built upon the previous results, obtained for different cholesteric liquid crystals ((see some references to our work below).

The project will include a collaboration with two experimental group at the University of Luxembourg and the University of Stuttgart.  These groups have an enormous expertise in the field of lyotropic liquid crystals.

[1] Honorato-Rios, C., Lehr, C., Sch¨utz, C., Sanctuary, R., Osipov, M. A., Baller, J. and Lagerwall, J. P.F.., Fractionation of cellulose nanocrystals: enhancing liquid crystal ordering with- out promoting gelation, Asia Materials, 10, 455–465 (2018).

[2]. Dawin, Ute C., Osipov, Mikhail A. and Giesselmann, F. Electrolyte effects on the chiral induction and on its temperature dependence in a chiral nematic lyotropic liquid crystal.  J of Phys. Chem. B, 114 (32). 10327-10336 (2010)

[3] A. V. Emelyanenko, M. A. Osipov and D. A. Dunmur, ]  Molecular theory of helical sense inversions in chiral nematic liquid crystals Phys. Rev. E, 62, 2340 (2000)

Further information

Please email Prof Osipov if you would like more information regarding this opportunity (m.osipov@strath.ac.uk)