A Twist-Bend Nematic (NTB) Phase of Chiral Materials.

New chiral dimers consisting of a rod-like and cholesterol mesogenic units are reported to form a chiral twist-bend nematic phase (NTB*) with heliconical structure. The compressibility of the NTB phase made of bent dimers was found to be as large as in smectic phases, which is consistent with the nanoperiodic structure of the NTB phase. The atomic force microscopy observations in chiral bent dimers revealed a periodicity of about 50 nm, which is significantly larger than the one reported previously for non-chiral compounds (ca. 10 nm). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]