Induction of ferroelectricity in the B2 phase of a liquid crystal composed of achiral bent-core molecules -: art. no. 042702

We report the observation of a transition from the antiferroelectric B-2 phase to a ferroelectric phase in a liquid crystal composed of achiral bent-core (banana-shaped) molecules. The transition is induced by an electric field of magnitude larger than the switching threshold and is not reversible, i.e., the original B-2 phase does not reappear upon field removal. The transformation is accompanied by a dramatic texture change, resulting in an almost optically isotropic structure in the absence of field. The ferroelectric character assigned to the structure is based on the electro-optic behavior of the material and on previously reported dielectric measurements. A short-pitch smectic-C*-type structure is proposed for the ferroelectric phase.