Understanding nanoscale mechanisms responsible for the recently discovered ferroelectric nematics can be helped by direct visualization of self-assembly of strongly polar molecules. Here we report on scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) studies of monomolecular layers of a ferroelectric nematic liquid crystal on a reconstructed Au(111) surface. The monolayers are obtained by deposition from a solution at ambient conditions. The adsorbed ferroelectric nematic molecules self-assemble into regular rows with tilted orientation, resembling a layered structure of a smectic C. Remarkably, each molecular dipole in this architecture is oriented along the same direction giving rise to polar ferroelectric ordering.
@article{arxiv.2401.10048,
title = {Polar self-organization of ferroelectric nematic liquid crystal molecules on atomically flat Au(111) surface},
author = {Alexandr A. Marchenko and Oleksiy L. Kapitanchuk and Yaroslava Yu. Lopatina and Kostiantyn G. Nazarenko and Anton I. Senenko and Nathalie Katsonis and Vassili G. Nazarenko and Oleg D. Lavrentovich},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2401.10048},
year = {2024}
}