Revision of the volumetric method for measurements of liquid–liquid equilibria in binary systems

A theoretical analysis of the accuracy of the volumetric method for the determination of liquid–liquid equilibrium was carried out. The results show that, under certain conditions, this method can be used to investigate systems showing relatively small mutual solubilities. Relations were derived to estimate standard deviations of the equilibrium compositions determined by the volumetric method.

In the experimental part of the work, an apparatus for measurements of mutual solubilities of liquids was constructed. A procedure that enabled us to determine precisely volumes of liquid phases was developed. This procedure and apparatus present the advantage that relatively small amounts of samples are required (approximately 2 × 20 ml). Theoretical conclusions concerning the applicability of the volumetric method were checked by measuring mutual solubilities at 303.15 K in systems methylcyclohexane + N,N-dimethylformamide, 1-butanol + water and dimethyl phthalate + water. Further, the method was used to measure systematically the liquid–liquid equilibrium in systems ethyl acetate + ethylene glycol and phenyl acetate + ethylene glycol at temperatures from 293 to 323 K. Data for these systems were acquired by means of other methods as well and a good agreement was observed on comparison.     

The anisotropic forces acting on the bonds of benzene in liquid crystals

The HH and CH dipolar couplings of benzene measured in five different liquid crystal solvents are subjected to an analysis which allows for the correlation between the molecular reorientational and vibrational motions. The number of adjustable parameters is reduced by treating the CH bonds or both the CH and CC bonds as effectively cylindrically symmetric entities. In this way detailed information on the anisotropic forces acting on the bonds of benzene dissolved in liquid crystals is obtained. The behaviour of the CC bonds, but not that of the CH bonds, may be explained by anisotropic dispersion forces. There is an approximately linear relation between the torques acting on the CH bonds of benzene and methane in the same liquid crystal environment. This suggests that these forces stem from a common interaction mechanism, possibly the van der Waals interaction between the atoms of the solute molecule and the liquid crystal surroundings or the interaction between the molecular quadrupole moment and the electric field gradient due to the surrounding medium. A bond additivity model for the molecular quadrupole moment tensor is developed and discussed.     

Computer simulation of solid and liquid benzene with an atomistic interaction potential derived from ab initio calculations

Molecular dynamics atomistic simulations of solid and liquid benzene have been performed, employing a model intermolecular potential derived from quantum mechanical calculations. The ab initio database includes approximately 200 geometries of the benzene dimer with interaction energies computed at the MP2 level of theory. The accuracy of the modeled force field results is satisfactory. The thermodynamic and structural properties, calculated in the condensed phases, are compared with experimental data and previous simulation results. Single particle and collective dynamical properties are also investigated through the calculation of translational and rotational diffusion coefficients, reorientational dynamics, and viscosities. The agreement of these data with experimental measurements confirms the reliability of the proposed force field.     

Dual quartz crystal microbalance compensation using a submerged reference crystal. Effect of surface roughness and liquid properties

Absolute resonant frequency measurements were made on gold-coated AT-cut quartz crystals with one face in contact with a series of liquids. The effect of surface roughness and liquid properties (viscosity and density) was analyzed in terms of a “trapped liquid” model. In this model, liquid present in surface imperfections is viewed as rigidly coupled mass. In some of the literature this density-dependent, but not viscosity-dependent, term is viewed as being additive to the hydrodynamic shift seen for a smooth surface. Data obtained using 1 μm and 5 μm surface finish crystals are inconsistent with the predictions of the trapped liquid model. This suggests hydrodynamic coupling between liquid internal and external to the crevices. Despite the lack of a theoretical model for the liquid motion, it is possible to compensate for frequency variations resulting from changing liquid properties and for roughness effects by making direct measurements of the resonant frequency difference between two crystals exposed to the same solution. This novel procedure works to the extent that the two crystals have similar surface topographies. Compensation is excellent for 1 μm finish crystals and good for 5 μm finish crystals.     

The anisotropic forces acting on the bonds of benzene in liquid crystals

Abstract

The HH and CH dipolar couplings of benzene measured in five different liquid crystal solvents are subjected to an analysis which allows for the correlation between the molecular reorientational and vibrational motions. The number of adjustable parameters is reduced by treating the CH bonds or both the CH and CC bonds as effectively cylindrically symmetric entities. In this way detailed information on the anisotropic forces acting on the bonds of benzene dissolved in liquid crystals is obtained. The behaviour of the CC bonds, but not that of the CH bonds, may be explained by anisotropic dispersion forces. There is an approximately linear relation between the torques acting on the CH bonds of benzene and methane in the same liquid crystal environment. This suggests that these forces stem from a common interaction mechanism, possibly the van der Waals interaction between the atoms of the solute molecule and the liquid crystal surroundings or the interaction between the molecular quadrupole moment and the electric field gradient due to the surrounding medium. A bond additivity model for the molecular quadrupole moment tensor is developed and discussed.     

Structure and dynamics of biological liquid crystals

A review of thermodynamic and flow liquid crystal models is presented and applied to a wide range of biological liquid crystals (BLCs), including helicoidal plywoods, biopolymer solutions and in vivo liquid crystals. The key characteristics of liquid crystals (self-assembly, packing, defects, functionalities, processability) are discussed in relation to biological materials and the strong correspondence between different synthetic and biological materials is discussed. Viscoelastic models for nematic and chiral nematics are reviewed and discussed in terms of key parameters that facilitate understanding and quantitative information from experimental measurements. The range and consistency of the predictions demonstrates that the use of mesoscopic liquid crystal models is an efficient tool to develop the science and biomimetic applications of mesogenic biological materials.     

Anisotropic united atom model including the electrostatic interactions of benzene

An optimization including electrostatic interactions has been performed for the parameters of an anisotropic united atoms intermolecular potential for benzene for thermodynamic and transport property prediction using Gibbs ensemble, isothermal-isobaric (NPT) Monte Carlo, and molecular dynamic simulations. The optimization procedure is based on the minimization of a dimensionless error criterion incorporating various thermodynamic data (saturation pressure, vaporization enthalpy, and liquid density) at ambient conditions and at 350 and 450 K. A comprehensive comparison of the new model is given with other intermolecular potentials taken from the literature. Overall thermodynamic, structural, reorientational, and translational dynamic properties of our optimized model are in very good agreement with experimental data. The new model also provides a good representation of the liquid structure, as revealed by three-dimensional spatial density functions and carbon-carbon radial distribution function. Shear viscosity variations with temperature and pressure are very well reproduced, revealing a significant improvement with respect to nonpolar models.     

液晶润滑的研究进展*

综述了近10多年来国内外液晶润滑及液晶添加剂的研究进展。概括了溶致液晶和热致液晶的润滑性能的理论研究及实验结果, 比较了不同类型液晶的润滑机理及在不同实验条件下的抗减摩性能, 以及它们作为普通润滑剂、合成油脂等的添加剂时的润滑效果。     

Deuteron quadrupole coupling in benzene: librational corrections using a temperature-dependent Einstein model, and summary. The symmetries of electric field gradients and conditions for eta = 1

Librational corrections are added to previous single-crystal and polycrystalline measurements of the deuteron quadrupole coupling constant in benzene. The results are related to gas-phase and liquid-crystal measurements and to theoretical values. A 'temperature-dependent Einstein model' is introduced for the purpose. The group-theoretical relations of the electric field-gradient (EFG) tensor to the nuclear site symmetry are discussed. The conditions for eta = 1 for reorientational processes are identified.     

New analytic apparatus for experimental determination of vapor–liquid equilibria and saturation densities

A new experimental apparatus for performing simultaneous determination of high-pressure vapor–liquid equilibria (VLE) and saturated densities was developed in this work. The experimental methodology was verified by measuring these properties for the carbon dioxide + 1-propanol and carbon dioxide + 2-propanol systems from 313 to 363 K. The apparatus is based on the static-analytic method for VLE determinations and was slightly modified by coupling a vibrating U-tube densitometer to obtain saturated densities for both vapor and liquid phases. VLE measurements agreed with previous literature data and were correlated with the Peng–Robinson equation of state coupled to the Wong–Sandler mixing rules. Saturation densities at temperatures above 313 K have not been published up to now.     

Unusual dynamic behavior in the isotropic phase of banana mesogens detected by 2H NMR line width and T2 measurements

In this work the first experimental observation of a peculiar behavior in the isotropic phase of liquid crystals by means of 2H NMR is reported. In particular, two five-ring banana-shaped mesogens, the 1,3-phenylenebis{4,4'-(11-undecenyloxy)benzoyloxy}benzoate (Pbis11BB) and its 4-chloro homologue (ClPbis11BB), selectively deuterium labeled on their central rings, are the subject of our investigation. The dynamic behavior of the two liquid crystals was studied in their isotropic phases and in the nematic phase of ClPbis11BB by means of 2H NMR line width and spin-spin relaxation time (T2) analysis. The results obtained reveal that the unusual line broadening observed in the 2H NMR spectra in the isotropic phase, even far above the isotropic phase-mesophase transition, has a homogeneous nature, thus indicating the presence of reorientational motions much slower than in conventional isotropic liquid-crystalline phases.     

Orientational characteristics of liquid crystals (5CB) by means of optical study

Information on molecular dynamics of the nematic liquid crystal 4-n-pentyl-4'-cyanobiphenyl (5CB) doped with the dyes DMANS and DMANAB has been obtained by luminescence and Raman measurements. Temperature dependences of reorientational correlation times are not the same for different molecular motions. Mechanisms responsible for the marked deviation of the time values obtained by different optical methods are discussed.     

Kinetics of nonisothermal polymer crystallization

We adopt a cluster size distribution model to investigate the kinetics of nonisothermal polymer crystallization. The time dependencies of polymer concentration, number and size of crystals, and crystallinity (in Avrami plots) are presented for different cooling rates. The incubation period is also investigated at different cooling rates and initial temperatures. The relationship between cooling rates and incubation time is presented graphically and compared with experimental measurements. The initial temperature (relative to melting point) has a significant effect on nonisothermal crystallization. A comparison of moment and numerical solutions of the population balance equations shows the influence of Ostwald ripening. Agreement between modeling results and experimental measurements at different cooling rates supports the application of the distribution kinetics model for nonisothermal crystallization.     

Block copolymers and liquid crystalline block copolymers: A bird's-eye view

Block copolymers and liquid crystals are separately known to order at different length scales. Various types of molecular interactions in liquid crystalline block copolymers determine complex phase behaviors and states of order, and thereby can provide a way of tailoring the material properties. Examples of liquid crystalline block copolymers will be discussed as they may offer unique opportunities for both theoretical and experimental research.     

Vapor–liquid equilibria and phase densities at saturation of carbon dioxide + 1-butanol and carbon dioxide + 2-butanol from 313 to 363 K

Experimental vapor–liquid equilibria for the systems carbon dioxide + 1-butanol and carbon dioxide + 2-butanol were obtained from 313 to 363 K via a static-analytic set-up. A vibrating U-tube densitometer was coupled to this apparatus to perform simultaneous measurements of both saturated densities of the vapor and liquid phases. The suitability of this apparatus was checked by comparing the experimental vapor–liquid equilibrium and saturated density results with the literature data. The experimental vapor–liquid equilibrium data were correlated using the Peng–Robinson equation of state coupled to the Wong–Sandler mixing rules with good agreement; however densities using the same model were not satisfactorily represented.     

New micro-structure designs of a wide band reflective polarizer with a pitch gradient

New microstructure designs for fabricating a wide band reflective polarizer (WBRP) from cholesteric liquid crystals are reported. The pitch difference in the WBRP is formed by orienting a single layer consisting of different glassy siloxane cyclic side chain oligomer powders on a heater. The molecular arrangement obtained is frozen by quenching. The experimental results show that various micro-areas exhibiting different reflection wavelengths and pitch gradients are formed in the WBRP. A WBRP exhibiting the reflection properties of the original cholesteric liquid crystals is fabricated by a novel experimental process and the experimental results are in accordance with the microstructure designs of the WBRP.     

NMR spectra of 1,2-difluoroethane in nematic solvents

In 1,2-difluoroethane, the gauche conformation predominates strongly. This circumstance allows the determination of its relative geometry by NMR in liquid crystals, though certain assumptions have still to be made, e.g. neglect of intermediate conformations. The principal result of the structure determination is the value of 69–70° for the dihedral angle ∠FCCF, which is quite insensitive to variations of the other internal coordinates. The value is, within the limits of error, equal to that obtained by microwave spectroscopy, but deviates from results of electron diffraction measurements.It is impossible to describe the average orientation of 1,2-difluoroethane using less than three orientation parameters. This indicates that the interconversion of the two gauche rotamers is slow compared with the reorientational motion.In an attempt to explain the lower energy of the gauche conformation relative to the trans conformation, and the high value of the dihedral angle, ∠FCCF, some explorative empirical calculations were carried out. These could not, however, reproduce the experimental data.