{"id":9175,"date":"2025-06-26T13:47:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T11:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/serwisnaukowy.uw.edu.pl\/en\/?p=9175"},"modified":"2026-05-12T13:53:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T11:53:24","slug":"a-dance-of-light-and-electricity-extraordinary-properties-of-a-liquid-crystal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/serwisnaukowy.uw.edu.pl\/en\/a-dance-of-light-and-electricity-extraordinary-properties-of-a-liquid-crystal\/","title":{"rendered":"A dance of light and electricity: Extraordinary properties of a liquid crystal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When chemists talk about crystals, they are referring less to the material itself and more to the way its molecules are arranged. Think of it like LEGO bricks, carefully stacked in a pattern that repeats in all three dimensions. This highly ordered structure gives crystals \u2013 beyond their hardness \u2013 distinct shapes and properties that can change depending on the direction you look at them. Salt, diamond, and rock crystal are all classic examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But not everything we casually call a \u201ccrystal\u201d actually fits the definition. A glass from your grandma\u2019s \u201ccrystal\u201d set, for instance, doesn\u2019t have a crystalline structure at all. It\u2019s simply glass enriched with lead oxide and finely cut to mimic the sparkle of real crystal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s less widely known is that crystals can exist in different spatial arrangements. In materials physics, these are known as phases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is also a special class of materials called liquid crystals. The name may sound contradictory, but it captures their unusual nature quite well: they flow like liquids, taking the shape of their container, yet at the same time retain an ordered molecular structure. Liquid crystals have been studied intensively for over a century, and yet new types of phases are still being discovered. A team from the Faculty of Chemistry at the University of Warsaw, working in collaboration with the Military University of Technology (WAT), is among those exploring these new frontiers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Examples
Examples of the texture of the new liquid crystalline phase: a) disordered material between two glass slides, b) a droplet of the material suspended on a glycerol substrate, c) domain texture of the newly discovered phase (polarized light microscopy image). Source: Military University of Technology\/University of Warsaw<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Right-handed or left-handed twist?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Scientists have named this new structure the \u201cheliconical ferroelectric nematic phase.\u201d The term \u201cheliconical\u201d refers to its twisted, helical structure \u2013 a spiral, spring-like form that emerges spontaneously in this phase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new liquid crystal has two key properties: it is both chiral and ferroelectric. Chirality simply means that an object cannot be superimposed onto its mirror image \u2013 it comes in \u201cright-handed\u201d and \u201cleft-handed\u201d versions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In chemistry, and especially organic chemistry, the shape of a molecule is of great importance. A useful way to think about chirality is as if we had two keys for a lock with identical teeth, but one of them is twisted in the opposite direction. The keys are theoretically the same, yet only one will open the door. This is exactly how it works in nature. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Individual proteins can recognize one version of a chiral molecule, while the other \u2013although chemically identical \u2013 may be ineffective or even toxic. A tragic example is thalidomide, widely used in the 1950s as a sedative and anti-nausea drug for pregnant women. One chiral form of the drug\u2019s active substance relieved nausea, while the other caused severe birth defects in fetuses. As a result of both mirror-image forms being mixed in the medication, around 12,000 children were born with serious limb malformations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Life on Earth always uses only one \u201cversion\u201d of chiral molecules \u2013 for example, exclusively L-amino acids (from Latin laevus, meaning \u201cleft\u201d) and D-sugars (from Latin dexter, meaning \u201cright\u201d). The reason for this preference remains an open question. One hypothesis suggests that, early in Earth\u2019s history, a slight imbalance gave one form an edge, and it simply prevailed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why materials that spontaneously develop chirality \u2013 like this newly discovered liquid crystal \u2013 are so important. They may help us understand why nature made that choice in the first place. Observing this in the heliconical ferroelectric nematic phase is remarkably simple \u2013 the fluid material randomly \u201cchooses\u201d its handedness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chirality is only part of the story. The second key feature is ferroelectricity \u2013 the ordering of molecular dipole moments (electric charges at the ends of molecules). This makes the material extremely responsive to external electric fields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While both properties are known separately in different crystals, the scientists have, for the first time, observed them combined in a single liquid crystalline phase that is simultaneously fluid, ferroelectric, and helically twisted. Such a combination of properties in a liquid had never been observed before and results from strong electrostatic interactions between molecules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most striking consequences is optical: the material can reflect light of a specific color, and that color can be changed easily using even a weak electric field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"One
One of the properties of the heliconical ferroelectric nematic phase is its ability to form stable filaments. Source: Damian Pociecha\/University of Warsaw<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The versatility of the new material<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe newly discovered liquid crystalline phase combines two fascinating phenomena: spontaneous breaking of mirror symmetry \u2013 leading to chirality \u2013 and ferroelectric ordering of electric dipoles, all within a single liquid state,\u201d explains Prof. Damian Pociecha. He adds that the discovery is not only a major step forward for soft matter physics, but also opens the door to new applications in electro-optical technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These technologies are already deeply embedded in everyday life, including in various types of displays. Thanks to the high sensitivity of the heliconical ferroelectric nematic phase to weak electric fields, precise image control with minimal energy consumption will be possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In practice, this could translate into a new generation of cameras, and optical components such as lenses, and even\u2026 window blinds that would precisely adjust the level of indoor shading without compromising visibility or transparency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The chemical formula of the liquid crystalline compound under study and a schematic of the structure of the newly discovered ferroelectric chiral nematic phase (NTBF). Source: Damian Pociecha\/University of Warsaw<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s next?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The discovery of a ferroelectric chiral liquid crystalline material by Polish scientists was published in the prestigious journal Science<\/em> and quickly caused a sensation in the field of chemistry. Since the original publication in June 2024, research on this new type of ferroelectric nematic phase has progressed rapidly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Independent teams around the world have confirmed the existence of this structure. To date, more than 60 new compounds capable of forming this phase have been synthesized, including materials that operate over broader temperature ranges \u2013 bringing them a step closer to real-world applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The text was originally published in Polish on the Serwis Naukowy UW <\/em>website <\/em><\/a>on June 26, 2025.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Liquid crystals have long powered the screens of televisions, phones, and watches. But in recent years, scientists have been uncovering entirely new kinds of liquid crystalline phases \u2013 often with remarkable properties. Now, a team of scientists from the University of Warsaw and the Military University of Technology has developed a liquid crystal that changes color when exposed to electrical pulses. This breakthrough could lead to more energy-efficient and precise display technologies, and may even help scientists explore one of the biggest questions of all: how life on Earth began.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":9176,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[244],"tags":[1608,1386,1609,1605,1604,1603,1607,1606,1387],"class_list":["post-9175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-chemistry","tag-chirality","tag-faculty-of-chemistry","tag-ferroelectricity","tag-heliconical-ferroelectric-nematic-phase","tag-laboratory-of-physicochemistry-of-dielectrics-and-magnetics","tag-liquid-crystals","tag-military-university-of-technology","tag-physicochemistry","tag-university-of-warsaw"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/serwisnaukowy.uw.edu.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/serwisnaukowy.uw.edu.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/serwisnaukowy.uw.edu.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serwisnaukowy.uw.edu.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serwisnaukowy.uw.edu.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9175"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/serwisnaukowy.uw.edu.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9175\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9182,"href":"https:\/\/serwisnaukowy.uw.edu.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9175\/revisions\/9182"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serwisnaukowy.uw.edu.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/serwisnaukowy.uw.edu.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serwisnaukowy.uw.edu.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serwisnaukowy.uw.edu.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}