Spatially resolved mapping of phase transitions in liquid-crystalline materials by X-ray birefringence imaging

Chem Sci. 2019 Jan 2;10(10):3005-3011. doi: 10.1039/c8sc05285a. eCollection 2019 Mar 14.

Abstract

The X-ray Birefringence Imaging (XBI) technique, first reported in 2014, is a sensitive method for spatially resolved mapping of the local orientational properties of anisotropic materials. We report the first application of the XBI technique to characterize molecular orientational ordering in a liquid crystalline material, demonstrating significant potential for exploiting XBI measurements to advance structural understanding of liquid crystal phases.