Aggregation, pretransitional behavior, and optical properties in the isotropic phase of lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals studied in high magnetic fields

Tanya Ostapenko; Yuriy A. Nastishin; Peter J. Collings; Samuel N. Sprunt; Oleg D. Lavrentovich; J. T. Gleeson

doi:10.1039/C3SM51819A

Aggregation, pretransitional behavior, and optical properties in the isotropic phase of lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals studied in high magnetic fields

Tanya Ostapenko,†*^a Yuriy A. Nastishin,^bc Peter J. Collings,^d Samuel N. Sprunt,^a Oleg D. Lavrentovich^be and J. T. Gleeson^a

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* Corresponding authors

^a Department of Physics, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA
E-mail: tostapen@kent.edu, ssprunt@kent.edu, jgleeson@kent.edu
Fax: +1 330 672 2959
Tel: +1 330 672 2246

^b Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA

^c Institute of Physical Optics, 23 Dragomanov str., Lviv, Ukraine

^d Department of Physics & Astronomy, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA 19081, USA

^e Chemical Physics Interdisciplinary Program, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA

Abstract

We report results on the high-field magneto-optical response of four aqueous, lyotropic, chromonic liquid crystal formulations in the isotropic phase. Measurements of the field-induced birefringence at temperatures above the isotropic-nematic coexistence region at high magnetic fields reveal qualitative differences in different materials; these differences can be attributed to the nature of aggregation and are discussed within the context of competing aggregation models. Extending these measurements to very high fields and large optical phase differences reveals the presence of an unexpected optical phenomenon: magnetic field-induced circular birefringence, measured in the Voigt geometry, in a system containing no molecularly chiral species. Possible origins of this effect are discussed.

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https://doi.org/10.1039/C3SM51819A

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Paper

Submitted

03 Jul 2013

Accepted

20 Aug 2013

First published

20 Aug 2013

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Soft Matter, 2013,9, 9487-9498

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Aggregation, pretransitional behavior, and optical properties in the isotropic phase of lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals studied in high magnetic fields

T. Ostapenko, Y. A. Nastishin, P. J. Collings, S. N. Sprunt, O. D. Lavrentovich and J. T. Gleeson, Soft Matter, 2013, 9, 9487 DOI: 10.1039/C3SM51819A

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Soft Matter

Aggregation, pretransitional behavior, and optical properties in the isotropic phase of lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals studied in high magnetic fields

Abstract

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Aggregation, pretransitional behavior, and optical properties in the isotropic phase of lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals studied in high magnetic fields

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