Induction of order in the isotropic phase of a lyotropic liquid crystal by pulsed light

Abstract

A surprising observation of order induced in the disordered (isotropic) phase of the lyotropic KL/DeOH/water mixture was experimentally verified using a pulsed laser beam. This effect is reported here for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. We present a theoretical approach based on a diffusion‐like equation that is in good agreement with the experimental results.

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the Brazilian Agencies CNPq, FAPESP and Fundação Araucária for financial support. We also wish to thank Odair G. Martins for helpful discussions.