Abstract
Abstract
Meta-periodicity beyond intrinsic atomic and molecular order, such as metacrystalline and quasicrystalline lattices, exists in solids, but is usually elusive in lyotropic liquid crystals for its energetic instability. The stable meta-periodicity in lyotropic liquid crystals in the absence of external stimuli remains unexplored, and how to achieve it keeps a great challenge. Here we create lyotropic liquid crystals with stable meta-periodicity in a free state, coined as liquid metacrystals, in colloidal systems by an invented shearing microlithography. The meta-periodicity is dynamically stabilized by the giant molecular size and strong excluded volume repulsion. Liquid metacrystals are designed to completely cover a library of symmetries, including five Bravais and six quasicrystalline lattices. Liquid metacrystal promises an extended form of liquid crystals with rich meta-periodicity and the shearing microlithography emerges as a facile technology to fabricate liquid meta-structures and metamaterials, enabling the digital design of structures and functionalities of liquid crystalline materials.
Funder
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Subject
General Physics and Astronomy,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology,General Chemistry
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