Yongqiang Shen

TL;DR: Absence of a lamellar X-ray reflection at wavevector q ∼ 2π/d or its harmonics in synchrotron-based scattering experiments indicates that this periodic structure is achieved with no detectable associated modulation of the electron density, and thus has nematic rather than smectic molecular ordering.

TL;DR: The SmAPF, the smectic of fluid polar orthorhombic layers that order into a three-dimensional ferroelectric state, is reported, the highest-symmetry layered ferro electric material found to date and the highest to date.

TL;DR: A fluid suspension of magnetic nanoplates that spontaneously aligns into an equilibrium nematic liquid crystal phase that is also macroscopically ferromagnetic, which produces distinctive magnetic self-interaction effects, including liquid crystal textures of fluid block domains arranged in closed flux loops.

TL;DR: Differential scanning calorimetry, solid-state NMR, and powder X-ray diffraction were used to examine the insertion of a dipolar rotor synthesized for the purpose, 1-n-hexadecyl-12-(2,3-dichlorophenyl)-p-dicarba-closo-dodecaborane, and it was found that it forms a surface inclusion compound.

TL;DR: Achiral molecules based on a four-ring core with an ester linkage at the molecular bend are shown to exhibit smectic liquid crystal phases with spontaneously chiral and polar layers (SmCP phases), including their polarization splay modulated and layer undulated (PMLU) variants, B7 and B1 as discussed by the authors.