Control Patterning\nof Cyanobiphenyl Liquid Crystals\nfor Electricity Applications

Controlling molecular self-assembly from organic solution\nevaporation\nis an important strategy for developing many functional materials\nand systems. In this work, it is demonstrated that 4-octyloxy-4′-cyanobiphenyl\n(8OCB) liquid crystals can be patterned into well-oriented stripes\nwith very high micrometer-scale precision using a sandwich system\nthrough a dewetting method. The preparation temperature, concentration,\nand surface energy are combined to control the morphology and orientation\nof 8OCB microstripe arrays assisted by silicon micropillars. Microstripes\nprepared below the isotropic temperature were uniform, well-ordered,\nand showed high electricity. In addition, 8OCB molecules have a strong\ntendency toward antiparallel alignment, nearly standing up on the\nsubstrate with long axes parallel to the microstripe. Also, we point\nout the mechanism for the self-assembly process of 8OCB on the air–liquid\nand liquid–solid surface.