POS4-0536
Fullerene-Based Nanosurfactant for Automatic Homeotropic Alignment of Liquid Crystals
Topic
S4. Colloids, Interfaces, and Molecular Assemblies for Functional Soft Materials
When and Where
Sep 30, 2026
08:30 - 09:30
Room 301 (Grand Ballroom)
Session Chairs
Heesuk KIM
Jinhye BAE
Presenter(s)
Chan Lee (Jeonbuk National University)
Co-Author(s)
Abstract
A fullerene-based asymmetric nanosurfactant (FAN) was developed for automatic homeotropic alignment (HA) of liquid crystals. FAN consists of an LC-phobic fullerene segment and an LC-philic mesogenic segment, inducing nanophase separation and spontaneous migration to the substrate surface. The self-assembled FAN layer forms nanoscale protrusions that induce sufficient elastic distortion of LC molecules, resulting in stable HA without conventional polyimide alignment layers. High-quality vertical alignment was achieved at an extremely low concentration, demonstrating excellent material efficiency. Surface analyses confirmed protrusions originated from FAN self-assembly, enabling reliable voltage-driven electro-optical switching and thermal stability. This strategy provides a simple and efficient approach for HA layers applicable to optical and display devices. This work was supported by BK21 FOUR Program, Bilateral Exchange Program (RS-2026-25442827).
