Polar Switching in a Lyotropic Columnar Nematic Liquid Crystal Made of Bowl-Shaped Molecules.

A polar response in a lyotropic columnar nematic material is reported. The material accommodates bowl-shaped molecules with strong axial dipole moments in column segments without head-to-tail invariance. Optical second-harmonic-generation methods confirm that the nematic columns align unidirectionally under an applied electric field and the material develops remnant macroscopic polarization observable for hours. The switching takes place by a flip of the columns.