20.500.12556/DiRROS-23627 Antiferroelectric order in nematic liquids flexoelectricity versus electrostatics Antiferroelectric order in nematic liquids: flexoelectricity versus electrostatics The recent discovery of ferroelectric nematic liquid crystalline phases marks a major breakthrough in soft matter research. An intermediate phase, often observed between the nonpolar and the ferroelectric nematic phase, shows a distinct antiferroelectric response to electric fields. However, its structure and formation mechanisms remain debated, with flexoelectric and electrostatics effects proposed as competing mechanisms. By controlling the magnitude of electrostatic forces through ion addition in two representative ferroelectric nematic materials, it is shown that the primary mechanism for the emergence of antiferroelectric order is the flexoelectric coupling between electric polarization and splay deformation of the nematic director. The addition of ions significantly expands the temperature range over which the antiferroelectric phase is observed, with this range increasing with increasing ion concentration. Polarizing optical microscopy studies and second harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy reveal the splayed structure modulated in 2D, while SHG interferometry confirms its antiferroelectric character. The model previously used to describe pretransitional behavior is extended by incorporating the electrostatic contribution of ions. The model shows qualitative agreement with the experiments, accurately reproducing the phase diagram and temperature-dependent evolution of the modulation period of the observed structure. ferroelectric nematic liquids flexoelectricity antiferroelectric order feroelektrične nematske tekočine true false true Wiley ZDA Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik © 2025 The Author(s). Neznano 2025-09-15 12:19:03 2025-09-15 12:19:04 2025-10-24 03:54:41 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2025 0 0 Nasl. z nasl. zaslona; Soavtorji iz Slovenije: Ema Hanžel, Matija Lovšin, Natan Osterman, Nerea Sebastián, Alenka Mertelj; Opis vira z dne 16. 1. 2025; str. 1-13 iss. 9 Vol 12 Mar. 2025 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 2024-11-12 0000-00-00 2025-01-09 537 2198-3844 10.1002/advs.202414818 222625027 https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/advs.202414818 1 690e2f93-921d-11f0-9bb7-001a4af901a5 https://dirros.openscience.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=34960 RAZ_Medle_Rupnik_Peter_2025.pdf RAZ_Medle_Rupnik_Peter_2025.pdf 1 6CAE7A3CF68D0D7DE041D292A1989C5F 924dc8e42f3977e6c183463b34c5844a259bb689210f0bfbd7ffdb814508f9a8 f57d9d73-921e-11f0-9bb7-001a4af901a5 https://dirros.openscience.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=34961 Institut Jožef Stefan 0 0 0