Quasielastic Neutron Scattering Study of Reorienting di-heptyloxyazoxybenzene (HOAB) Molecules in the Nematic and Smectic C Phases

Quasielastic neutron scattering (QNS) measurements carried out for heptyloxyazoxybenzene (HOAB) revealed the existence of fast molecular reorientation in the nematic and smectic C phases. The correlation time of this process, derived by fitting to a uniaxial rotational diffusion model, is of order of 10–20 ps in both liquid crystal phases. An explanation of the reasons for the disagreement between the correlation time values obtained by methods based on QNS and dielectric relaxation in the microwave region is suggested.     

Occurrence of Reentrant Nematic and Reentrant Smectic A Phases in Mesogenic Series

A systematic comparative study of several series of chemically neighbouring compounds apt to give a reentrant mesomorphism is proposed. Experimental data concerning the various reentrant phases are summed up. From these observations various factors favourable to the occurence of the reentrance are revealed. Thus, the chemical composition, the sense and the location of dipoles in the molecules, the reduced temperatures, the length of the rigid core are discussed as relevant parameters.     

Induction of B1, B6 and Biaxial Smectic A Phases in Binary Mixtures of Compounds with Rod-Like and Bent-Core Molecules

Abstract

We have studied a binary mixture of compounds, one of which has rod-like molecules and the other bent-core molecules. The rod-like molecules are biphilic in nature with a long alkoxy chain attached to an aromatic moeity only at one end, and exhibit the bilayer SmA₂ phase, even though they do not have the highly polar cyano or nitro groups. The compound with bent-core molecules exhibit the B₂ phase which has polarized layers with tilted molecules. Three liquid crystalline phases are induced in the binary mixtures, depending on the concentration: the 2-dimensionally ordered B₁ phase for compositions with 15 to 63 mol% of the rod-like molecules and the B₆ phase for 63 to 87 mol%. The sequence obtained on increasing the concentration of rod-like molecules is the same as that seen on shortening the chain length of the BC molecules. Between 87 to 95.5 mol% of the rod-like molecules, a new biaxial smectic A₂ (SmA_2b ) phase is induced. On the basis of several observations, we argue that it corresponds to a structure in which the BC molecules are reoriented with their arrow directions pointed along the layer normal. The SmA₂ to SmA_2b transition corresponds to an orientational transition of the bent-core molecules in the anisotropic SmA₂ background medium.     

Co-Existent Biphasic Region of Nematic and Columnar Smectic Phases in Binary Mixture of Berberine and Alizarin Dye

We report the results of our studies on the optical and thermal properties of binary mixture of two compounds viz., berberine and alizarin dye. The mixture shows a very interesting co-existent biphasic region of nematic N + I and smectic C + I phases, sequentially when the specimen is cooled from its isotropic phase respectively at different concentrations of Alizarin dye in berberine molecule. The temperature variations of optical anisotropy, optical textures, and electrical conductivity have also been discussed. Aggregated molecular size has been confirmed by X-ray studies.     

Dynamic Scattering and Material Flow in a Nematic Liquid Crystal

Results are presented which show how defects in a nematic liquid crystal can be used to investigate material flow when external electric fields are applied. These results include measurements of the size of flow cells, which were created between the electrodes by an electric field. The electrodes, which were made of transparent conductive coated glass, were placed in a vertical position so that flow cells could be observed from the top while dynamic scattering was observed when viewing normal to the electrodes.