Birefringence effects in isotropic phases of Chromonics liquid crystals under confinement.

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Title: Birefringence effects in isotropic phases of Chromonics liquid crystals under confinement.
Authors: Fuoco, E.1 (AUTHOR), Spina, L.1,2 (AUTHOR), Bruno, E.3 (AUTHOR), Baldino, N.3 (AUTHOR), Lupi, F.R.3 (AUTHOR), Santo, M.P.De1,2 (AUTHOR) maria.desanto@fis.unical.it, Ciuchi, F.1,2 (AUTHOR) federica.ciuchi@cnr.it
Source: Journal of Molecular Liquids. Apr2026, Vol. 448, pN.PAG-N.PAG. 1p.
Subjects: Birefringence, Liquid crystals, Optical polarization, Liquid crystal states, Microspheres
Abstract: Micro confinement of soft matter systems alters their self-assembly, changing thermodynamic and kinetic pathways and producing unique organizational motifs inaccessible in bulk. Understanding the mechanisms behind confinement-driven phase transitions in soft materials may enable the development of responsive systems whose properties can be dynamically tuned by spatial constraints, offering significant potential in applications such as stimuli-responsive drug delivery, soft robotics, and adaptive biomedical devices. The confinement of chromonic liquid crystals mesophases in spherical geometries has been widely studied in the past years but no data are present in literature concerning the confinement of their isotropic phase. In this work we report on the rise of a liquid crystalline phase in microspheres prepared by emulsifying an isotropic solution of chromonic liquid crystal in a polymeric immiscible matrix. Birefringence is observed at room temperature in a considerable percentage of microspheres whose textures are related to the microspheres' dimension. The phenomenon is general; it does not depend on the chromonic mesogen flexibility and it is not sensitive to the presence of ions. [Display omitted] • Observation of nematic effects in chromonics liquid crystals isotropic phases under confinement. • Statistical counting of isotropic and nematic microspheres. • Polarized Optical images of microspheres textures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Molecular Liquids is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Birefringence effects in isotropic phases of Chromonics liquid crystals under confinement.
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  Label: Authors
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Fuoco%2C+E%2E%22">Fuoco, E.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Spina%2C+L%2E%22">Spina, L.</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Bruno%2C+E%2E%22">Bruno, E.</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Baldino%2C+N%2E%22">Baldino, N.</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Lupi%2C+F%2ER%2E%22">Lupi, F.R.</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Santo%2C+M%2EP%2EDe%22">Santo, M.P.De</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> maria.desanto@fis.unical.it</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ciuchi%2C+F%2E%22">Ciuchi, F.</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> federica.ciuchi@cnr.it</i>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Molecular+Liquids%22">Journal of Molecular Liquids</searchLink>. Apr2026, Vol. 448, pN.PAG-N.PAG. 1p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Birefringence%22">Birefringence</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Liquid+crystals%22">Liquid crystals</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Optical+polarization%22">Optical polarization</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Liquid+crystal+states%22">Liquid crystal states</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Microspheres%22">Microspheres</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Micro confinement of soft matter systems alters their self-assembly, changing thermodynamic and kinetic pathways and producing unique organizational motifs inaccessible in bulk. Understanding the mechanisms behind confinement-driven phase transitions in soft materials may enable the development of responsive systems whose properties can be dynamically tuned by spatial constraints, offering significant potential in applications such as stimuli-responsive drug delivery, soft robotics, and adaptive biomedical devices. The confinement of chromonic liquid crystals mesophases in spherical geometries has been widely studied in the past years but no data are present in literature concerning the confinement of their isotropic phase. In this work we report on the rise of a liquid crystalline phase in microspheres prepared by emulsifying an isotropic solution of chromonic liquid crystal in a polymeric immiscible matrix. Birefringence is observed at room temperature in a considerable percentage of microspheres whose textures are related to the microspheres' dimension. The phenomenon is general; it does not depend on the chromonic mesogen flexibility and it is not sensitive to the presence of ions. [Display omitted] • Observation of nematic effects in chromonics liquid crystals isotropic phases under confinement. • Statistical counting of isotropic and nematic microspheres. • Polarized Optical images of microspheres textures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Molecular Liquids is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1016/j.molliq.2026.129409
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 1
        StartPage: N.PAG
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Birefringence
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Liquid crystals
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Optical polarization
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Liquid crystal states
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Microspheres
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Birefringence effects in isotropic phases of Chromonics liquid crystals under confinement.
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            NameFull: Fuoco, E.
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            NameFull: Spina, L.
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            NameFull: Bruno, E.
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            NameFull: Santo, M.P.De
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            – D: 15
              M: 04
              Text: Apr2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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              Value: 448
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            – TitleFull: Journal of Molecular Liquids
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