Three-dimensional textures and defects of soft material layering revealed by thermal sublimation

Layering is found and exploited in a variety of soft material systems, ranging from complex macromolecular self-assemblies to block copolymer and small-molecule liquid crystals. Because the control of layer structure is required for applications and characterization, and because defects reveal key f...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 110; no. 48; pp. 19263 - 19267
Main Authors:	Ki Yoon, Dong, Kim, Yun Ho, Kim, Dae Seok, Dae Oha, Seong, Smalyukh, Ivan I., Clark, Noel A., Jung, Hee-Tae
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	United States National Academy of Sciences 26-11-2013 NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES National Acad Sciences
Subjects:	Conic sections Cooling Cylinders Edge dislocations Emotional sublimation Fluorescence Imaging, Three-Dimensional - methods Interfacial tension Liquid crystal polymers Liquid crystals Liquid Crystals - chemistry Material films Materials Testing - methods Microscopy, Atomic Force Microscopy, Electron Microscopy, Fluorescence Molecules Nanostructures - ultrastructure Physical Sciences Room temperature Surface Properties Surface texture Thermogravimetry Transmission electron microscopy Visualization X-Ray Diffraction direct visualization sublime
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	Layering is found and exploited in a variety of soft material systems, ranging from complex macromolecular self-assemblies to block copolymer and small-molecule liquid crystals. Because the control of layer structure is required for applications and characterization, and because defects reveal key features of the symmetries of layered phases, a variety of techniques have been developed for the study of soft-layer structure and defects, including X-ray diffraction and visualization using optical transmission and fluorescence confocal polarizing microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and SEM and transmission electron microscopy, including freeze-fracture transmission electron microscopy. Here, it is shown that thermal sublimation can be usefully combined with such techniques to enable visualization of the 3D structure of soft materials. Sequential sublimation removes material in a stepwise fashion, leaving a remnant layer structure largely unchanged and viewable using SEM, as demonstrated here using a lamellar smectic liquid crystal.
Bibliography:	http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1317922110 Author contributions: D.K.Y. and H.-T.J. designed research; D.K.Y. and Y.H.K. performed research; D.K.Y., Y.H.K., D.S.K., S.D.O., I.I.S., and N.A.C. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; D.K.Y., Y.H.K., D.S.K., I.I.S., N.A.C., and H.-T.J. analyzed data; and D.K.Y., Y.H.K., I.I.S., N.A.C., and H.-T.J. wrote the paper. Contributed by Noel A. Clark, October 15, 2013 (sent for review August 28, 2013) 1D.K.Y. and Y.H.K. contributed equally to this work.
ISSN:	0027-8424 1091-6490
DOI:	10.1073/pnas.1317922110