Nanoscale Engineering of Dyes for Liquid Crystal Device Applications
Lead Research Organisation:
University of York
Department Name: Chemistry
Abstract
This project, entitled the "Nanoscale Engineering of Dyes for Liquid Crystal Device Applications", will tackle an adventurous scientific programme aimed at the "rational design and controlled molecular engineering" of dichroic dyes to create new classes of functional soft materials for a variety of applications. The specific outcome of the science of the programme will be the creation of new dichroic dyes by rational design strategies, including computer modelling approaches, that will ultimately drive the synthesis of target materials and their incorporation into liquid crystals hosts. The design methodology will provide new insights into self-organisation and self-assembly processes in condensed fluids, which are expected to be generally applicable to molecular materials, and will be of interest to chemists, physicists, engineers and theoreticians alike. In particular, it is also intended that the work will lead to the creation of new materials for applications in novel light scattering display devices for use outdoors, such as tablet computers, and in bistable devices, which can display information without the need for continuously applied electric fields.
The materials we intend to investigate include molecular materials, dimers, and supermolecular dyes that have nanosegregated structures. The target materials may be liquid crystals or may be designed as dopants to add to liquid crystal matrices. In addition, for more complex systems, such as supermolecules, the materials may be composed of both mesomorphic and chromophoric entities. We will use a variety of chromophores, eg anthraquinone, perylene, etc to give materials with a range of tunable colours that will be created by the nanoscale engineering of molecular structures and by the design of dye mixtures.
The materials we intend to investigate include molecular materials, dimers, and supermolecular dyes that have nanosegregated structures. The target materials may be liquid crystals or may be designed as dopants to add to liquid crystal matrices. In addition, for more complex systems, such as supermolecules, the materials may be composed of both mesomorphic and chromophoric entities. We will use a variety of chromophores, eg anthraquinone, perylene, etc to give materials with a range of tunable colours that will be created by the nanoscale engineering of molecular structures and by the design of dye mixtures.
Planned Impact
The primary aim of this project is to design and synthesise novel dichroic dyes for applications in a variety of liquid crystal and optical devices. The design will be informed by computer modelling, including density functional theory calculations and molecular dynamics simulations, which will ultimately drive the synthesis of target materials, i.e. this programme is effectively one of nanoengineering of soft matter.
The project will involve a large amount of fundamental research, which will be of short to medium-term benefit to those working in fields associated with the project, such as directed self-assembly and controlled self-organization, i.e. beyond the molecule; physical, synthetic and materials chemistry; molecular simulations and rational design; and photonics, electrooptics and device engineering. In addition to the broader impact to the research community, a medium-term impact of the project will occur when materials that have been prepared become available for further studies by academics and industrialists working in the physics and engineering of condensed phases of matter for a variety of electrooptic devices, and potentially for other areas such as e-inks, printing inks and materials for biosensors etc.
The associated medium to longer-term aims of producing functional materials, with high figures of merit for materials properties, are expected to have a direct impact in industry, particularly for companies involved in, or requiring, rational design of materials for optical devices. Thus, this work will represent a significant breakthrough particularly for the electronic, chemical, and organic semi-conductor industries. We expect our results to attract significant interest from a wide range of companies, both in the UK and Europe, and more widely in the countries of the Far East.
The development of a new "dyes platform" for electrooptics would allow these industries to provide more efficient, more reliable, more varied, and better and perhaps cheaper products, giving them a competitive economic advantage. By joining together and pooling knowledge and resources, truly world-class research will be possible, putting the UK at the forefront of this area and with links to leading UK and global companies.
The longer term benefits to society arising from this research are expected to be varied, and will occur through novel devices or functional materials that are developed and exploited in every-day applications such as e-readers, e-inks, supermarket shelving, outdoor information displays, and bistable devices which do not require a continuously applied electric field to display information, etc, and in not so commonly visible but important applications involving security devices.
The project will involve a large amount of fundamental research, which will be of short to medium-term benefit to those working in fields associated with the project, such as directed self-assembly and controlled self-organization, i.e. beyond the molecule; physical, synthetic and materials chemistry; molecular simulations and rational design; and photonics, electrooptics and device engineering. In addition to the broader impact to the research community, a medium-term impact of the project will occur when materials that have been prepared become available for further studies by academics and industrialists working in the physics and engineering of condensed phases of matter for a variety of electrooptic devices, and potentially for other areas such as e-inks, printing inks and materials for biosensors etc.
The associated medium to longer-term aims of producing functional materials, with high figures of merit for materials properties, are expected to have a direct impact in industry, particularly for companies involved in, or requiring, rational design of materials for optical devices. Thus, this work will represent a significant breakthrough particularly for the electronic, chemical, and organic semi-conductor industries. We expect our results to attract significant interest from a wide range of companies, both in the UK and Europe, and more widely in the countries of the Far East.
The development of a new "dyes platform" for electrooptics would allow these industries to provide more efficient, more reliable, more varied, and better and perhaps cheaper products, giving them a competitive economic advantage. By joining together and pooling knowledge and resources, truly world-class research will be possible, putting the UK at the forefront of this area and with links to leading UK and global companies.
The longer term benefits to society arising from this research are expected to be varied, and will occur through novel devices or functional materials that are developed and exploited in every-day applications such as e-readers, e-inks, supermarket shelving, outdoor information displays, and bistable devices which do not require a continuously applied electric field to display information, etc, and in not so commonly visible but important applications involving security devices.
Publications
Mandle RJ
(2015)
Apolar bimesogens and the incidence of the twist-bend nematic phase.
in Chemistry (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany)
Mandle R
(2015)
Self-organisation through size-exclusion in soft materials
in Journal of Materials Chemistry C
Mandle R
(2015)
Etheric bimesogens and the twist-bend nematic phase
in Liquid Crystals
Petersen A
(2015)
Liquid crystalline dihydroazulene photoswitches
in RSC Advances
Mandle RJ
(2015)
Relationship between molecular association and re-entrant phenomena in polar calamitic liquid crystals.
in The journal of physical chemistry. B
Sims MT
(2015)
Dyes in Liquid Crystals: Experimental and Computational Studies of a Guest-Host System Based on a Combined DFT and MD Approach.
in Chemistry (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany)
Zhang Z
(2015)
Raman scattering studies of order parameters in liquid crystalline dimers exhibiting the nematic and twist-bend nematic phases
in Journal of Materials Chemistry C
Mandle R
(2016)
An interplay between molecular pairing, smectic layer spacing, dielectric anisotropy and re-entrant phenomena in ?-alkenyloxy cyanobiphenyls
in Liquid Crystals
Mandle R
(2016)
Dependence of Mesomorphic Behaviour of Methylene-Linked Dimers and the Stability of the N TB /N X Phase upon Choice of Mesogenic Units and Terminal Chain Length
in Chemistry - A European Journal
Description | Modelling of order parameters for dyes New materials prepared with potential applications in devices Dyes for testing in various applications have been produced Substrates for the synthesis of dyes, which has produced dyes of very high solubilities. This has been broadened to other materials including OLEDs, pigments, ferroelectrics etc A patent application has been progressed. Materials now developed for specific devices and being investigated through a spin out company in a multinational activity |
Exploitation Route | Materials being investigated by an industrial partner and linked into an international collaboration Dyes are being provided to Leeds University for light scattering devices A patent application has been developed which will have broad applications |
Sectors | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Chemicals,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Electronics,Security and Diplomacy,Other |
Description | Room Temperature smectic A materials have been prepared. Computer modelling of dyes have been used to predict order parameters and experimental results are in agreement. Therefore modelling can be used to determine synthetic target materials. Some of the dyes produced have been provided to two universities for their research developments in light scattering devices. Both universities are working with industry on devices. In the process of our studies we have also discovered that the substrate materials we have been designing have extraordinary effects on the solubilities of materials. Thus the work has spread from dyes to other kinds of materials, including OLEDs, pigments, catalysts, ferroelectrics etc. |
Sector | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Chemicals,Electronics,Security and Diplomacy,Other |
Impact Types | Economic |
Description | EPSRC Impact Accelerator \ University of York |
Amount | £18,479 (GBP) |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2017 |
End | 03/2017 |
Description | EPSRC Impact Accelerator \ University of York |
Amount | £31,956 (GBP) |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 10/2017 |
End | 09/2018 |
Description | CAPE University of Cambridge |
Organisation | University of Cambridge |
Department | Centre for Advanced Photonics and Electronics (CAPE) |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Materials - dyes and liquid crystals - for test purposes |
Collaborator Contribution | Evaluation of materials in various devices and conditions |
Impact | No outcomes yet |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | Kingston Chemicals Ltd |
Organisation | University of Hull |
Department | Kingston Chemicals |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | Kingston Chemicals sometimes receives early view of information from us on materials that have have been synthesized by our research group. |
Collaborator Contribution | Kingston Chemicals is a small company which produces bornic acids and other intermediates for the synthesis of liquid crystals, at no cost to us. The company has provided us with reasonable quantities of desirable intermediates for our synthesis projects. Many of these materials are either too expensive to purchase or are not commercially available. Thus Kingston is a valued supplier for our synthetic programmes. |
Impact | A number of joint research articles have been published, and mixture formulations for ferroelectric liquid crystals have been developed which are sometimes used to support the research in academic physics laboratories in the UK and EU. |
Start Year | 2006 |
Description | University of Copenhagan |
Organisation | University of Copenhagen |
Country | Denmark |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Collaboration on photoswitchable materials for displays. Synthesis done in Copenhagen, measurements in York. |
Collaborator Contribution | Provision of materials for the study of optical switching in thermal and electrical fields. |
Impact | Liquid crystalline dihydroazulene photoswitches, A.U. Petersen, M. Jevric, R.J. Mandle, E.J. Davis, S.J. Cowling, J.W. Goodby and M.B. Nielsen, RSC Advances, 2015, 109, 89731-89744, DOI: 10.1039/c5ra18649h. |
Start Year | 2014 |
Company Name | PHASEAR |
Description | R&D company developing materials for photonic devices utilizing liquid crystal over silicon construction. |
Year Established | 2018 |
Impact | Not yet |
Description | Public Lectures/Teaching |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | We Have lectured/taught/entertained numerous public/educational events from schools to Christmas Lectures, to large scale public lectures, and from science to art, and all with demonstrations. we have done schools lectures from classes of 10 upwards, to cafe scientific for about 50, to large auditoriums for the public and Science Conferences for up to 250. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2006,2007,2009,2011,2012,2013,2015,2016,2017,2018 |