Dielectric spectroscopy of a high-polarization ferroelectric liquid crystal

Dielectric spectroscopy investigations in the frequency range 50?Hz to 1?MHz have been carried out on a new ferroelectric liquid-crystalline material (S-(-)-4-(2-n-hexylpropionyloxy)biphenyl-4′-(3-methyl-4-decyloxy)benzoate) possessing a relatively large spontaneous polarization (P _s?～?240?nC?cm^?2) and containing a lateral methyl group on the aromatic ring of the alkoxybenzoate unit. The effect of temperature on the dielectric relaxation modes has been investigated in the SmC* and N* phases. From dielectric dispersion data, relaxation frequency and dielectric strength of all detected relaxation modes have been evaluated and discussed. A new surface-like mode of relaxation frequency ～11?kHz and dielectric strength 3.8, is seen to appear in the SmC* phase.     

Observation of relaxation modes in room temperature ferroelectric liquid crystal mixtures

The dielectric measurements in SmC* and SmA phases of a room temperature ferroelectric liquid crystal mixture FLC-6980 in the cells of different thickness in planer alignment have been carried out in the frequency range 100 Hz to 1 MHz. A relaxation mode (called NRM) whose dielectric increment is less than the Goldstone mode has been observed in the SmC* phase. This mode appears due to the surface effect. Goldstone mode and the soft mode was observable in the vicinity of SmC*-SmA transition temperature (T _C*A). The dielectric parameters of the Goldstone mode, new mode and the soft mode have been studied as a function of frequency and temperature. The calculated values for f_NRM, δε^NRM and distribution parameter α_NRM are found to be 325 kHz, 6 and 0.156 for 5μm thick planer cell at 37°C. It is seen that in the vicinity of theT _C*A, soft mode obeys the Curie-Weiss law given by mean field theory. The results have been compared with materials of large spontaneous polarization.     

Effect of polymer relaxation on dielectric spectroscopic study of polymer–ferroelectric liquid crystal composites

Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and ferroelectric liquid crystal (P–FLC) composite films (~ 4 μm) with varying proportions of ferroelectric liquid crystal have been prepared and the dielectric response of the composite films as a function of wide frequency (100 Hz–10 MHz) and temperature (127–40 °C) have been analyzed. The dielectric spectra of such composite systems are considerably modified compared to those of the corresponding pure LC or PMMA materials. The observed paraelectric to ferroelectric transition temperature of the composites is found to be lower (~ 85 °C) compared to that of the pure LC system (~ 98 °C), which makes these composites technologically more significant. The P–FLC composites also exhibit higher relaxation frequency and smaller dielectric strength for the Goldstone mode compared to those of the corresponding pure FLC. Depending on the percentage of the constitute materials, the molecular dynamics of the composite materials changes. Dielectric contributions of both liquid crystal and PMMA matrix forming the composites have been analyzed on the basis of Havriliak and Negami function.     

Thermodynamic and bias field investigation of an antiferroelectric liquid crystal

Dielectric spectroscopy of an antiferroelectric liquid crystal material (S)-4-(1-methylheptyloxycarbonyl)phenyl-4′-(6-pentanoyloxyhex-1-oxy)biphenyl-4-carboxylate 4H6Bi(S) for its helical phases has been carried out under bias electric field in the frequency range 0.1 Hz-10 MHz. Bias field investigation has been carried out in order to explore new relaxation modes. Dielectric characterization of the material, when carried out as a function of DC bias, reveals soft mode around 350 kHz and domain mode at ∼100 Hz in the SmC^? phase as a consequence of suppression of Goldstone mode due to helix unwinding. In the SmC^?_A phase a field induced new relaxation mode has been investigated at 8.0 kV/cm having relaxation frequency from 100 Hz to 600 Hz with increasing bias electric field.     

Low frequency dielectric spectroscopy of two room temperature chiral liquid crystal mixtures

Dielectric spectroscopy of two room temperature chiral liquid crystal mixtures (W-96 and W-97) have been carried out in the frequency range of 100?mHz–10?MHz. Low frequency dielectric relaxation modes corresponding to collective behavior of molecules (Goldstone- and soft-modes) in the SmC* phase have been found to be masked by the ionic conductance. Two slow modes of dielectric relaxation due to the ionic conductance have been detected (below 15?Hz) in planar-aligned samples. It has been observed that the effect of ionic conductance decreases with the number of thermal annealing cycles on the materials. With large number of thermal annealing cycles it has been possible to wipe out the effects of ionic conductance and then to detect other weak modes of dielectric relaxation which are otherwise masked.     

Effect of an azo dye (DR1) on the dielectric parameters of a nematic liquid crystal system

 The dielectric parameters and relaxation properties of azo dye (DR1) doped E7 and pure E7 liquid crystal (LC) have been investigated in a wide frequency range of 10 k–10 MHz through the dielectric spectroscopy method at room temperature. Dielectric anisotropy (Δε) property of the LC changes from the positive type to negative type and dielectric anisotropy values decrease with doping of DR1. The relaxation frequency f_r of E7 and E7/DR1 LC was calculated by means of Cole–Cole plots. Influence of bias voltage on the dielectric parameters has also been investigated.     

Determination of the bulk rotational viscosity coefficient in a chiral smectic C* liquid crystal

The method of determination of the bulk values of the rotational viscosity coefficient of the smectic c-director in chiral smectic liquid crystals with a helical structure is described. The measurements were performed using optical detection in the small deformation limit. In contrast to the usual methods, the initial deformation of the helix (caused by strong surface interactions) was avoided by using homeotropic aligned thick samples. The coefficient was measured in 4-methylbutyloxy phenyl-4-octyloxy-benzoate (C8) in the presence of laminar flow. The critical temperature dependence of the measured coefficient was found. The relation between the measured coefficient and the smectic C order parameter is shown.     

Temporal electrical response of chiral smectic liquid crystal displays with V/W-shaped electrooptical characteristic

Chiral smectic liquid crystal cells showing V-shaped electrooptical switching have been reported as one of the most promising technologies for high-end display applications. In this work, time-resolved electrical behaviour of these devices has been obtained through a set of systematic measurements. The electrical equivalent circuit has been derived, a number of simulations at different frequencies have been performed using commercial software for analogue circuits. Performance of this electrical model to account for time domain variations of switching currents in chiral smectic LC displays with V/W-shaped electrooptical response has been analyzed as well.     

Rotational viscosity of a liquid crystal mixture: a fully atomistic molecular dynamics study

Fully atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations at 293, 303 and 313~K have been performed for the four-component liquid crystal mixture, E7, using the software package Material Studio. Order parameters and orientational time correlation functions (TCFs) were calculated from MD trajectories. The rotational viscosity coefficients (RVCs) of the mixture were calculated using the Nemtsov--Zakharov and Fialkowski methods based on statistical-mechanical approaches. Temperature dependences of RVC and density were discussed in detail. Reasonable agreement between the simulated and experimental values was found.     

Viscoelastic modes in chiral liquid crystals

Viscoelastic properties of liquid crystals are very important for applications like display technology. However, there are not many direct techniques to study them. In this review, we describe our studies on the viscoelastic modes of some chiral liquid crystals using dynamic light scattering. We discuss viscoelastic modes corresponding to the C director fluctuations in the chiral smectic C phase and the behaviour of the Goldstone-mode near the chiral smectic C-smectic A phase transition. In cholesteric liquid crystals, we consider the director fluctuations in a wavevector range comparable to the inverse pitch of the cholesteric. Here, the study of the scattered light in the vicinity of the Bragg reflection using a novel geometry will be presented.     

铁电液晶MBOPDOB相变的光散射研究

我们对铁电液晶 MBOPDOB 进行了温度有关的拉曼散射研究。在低频范围记录了三条拉曼谱线(15,49,93cm~(-1))。其中15和49cm~(-1)谱线消失于 C-Sm C相变温度,没有检测到任何频移现象。93cm~(-1)拉曼线产生部分频移,消失于各向同性相,联系着偶极-偶极互作用。高频范围四个振动模(1178和1116cm~(-1),1710和1738cm~(-1))之间能量转移归于由电子转移引起的 C=0键硬化和 C-0健的弱化。同时也讨论了该液晶 Sm C-Sm A 相变的二级连续型特征。     

Observation of memory behaviour in cadmium sulphide nanorods doped ferroelectric liquid crystal mixture

In this study, cadmium sulphide (CdS) nanorods doped ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) sample cells have been prepared and studied. A memory effect has been observed in CdS nanorods (≤0.3?wt%) doped FLC mixture and confirmed by textures, dielectric and optical studies. The addition of nanorods increases the memory behaviour and efficiency. The occurrence of memory behaviour has been explained due to charge transfer from liquid crystal molecules to CdS nanorods and exists there for 5–15?min in 0.1–0.3?wt% CdS nanorods doped samples. An improvement in polarization, switching time, threshold voltage and rise time parameters has also been noticed in CdS nanorods doped FLC samples.     

Study of dipole dynamics and pre-transitional effects at isotropic to nematic phase transition by low-frequency dielectric relaxation measurements

Thermal microscopy (TM) as well as low-frequency (LF) dielectric relaxation studies are carried out on a nematic liquid crystal (NLC), viz E7 (Merck Ltd, UK). The isotropic to nematic (IN) transition temperatureT _IN determined by TM and LF-dielectric permittivity measurements agrees with the available data. Dielectric loss studies in the frequency region of 5–10?MHz indicate a relaxation (in the kHz region) akin to Debye type off-centered dispersion. The observed nematic relaxation is found to correspond to reorientation (about the short axis) of the nematic dipole to the external field. The temperature variation of the nematic relaxation frequencyf _R is found to follow an Arrhenius shift, with an activation energy of 1.7?eV. Temperature variation of the dielectric strength (Δε = ε _o ? ε_∞) and the distribution parameter α in the nematic phase are discussed. The dynamic response of the nematic dipoles and growth of pre-transitional fluctuations are found to be nonlinear in the vicinity of the IN transition. The value of the exponent α_eff = 0.072 indicates weak growth of transitional fluctuations across the IN transition.     

Observation of edge dislocations in helical smectic liquid crystals

We report the observation of elementary edge dislocations in smectic liquid crystals possessing helical structure. The dislocations were observed in the entire temperature range of helical phases, including ferroelectric, ferrielectric and antiferroelectric phases. The mechanism for visualizing the dislocations is based on the phenomenon of selective reflection of circularly polarised light. The performed observations of dislocations deliver not only information on the mechanisms of defect creation in various chiral smectic phases, but also on the structure and properties of the investigated smectics, often inaccessible using standard methods.     

Influence of moieties for the phase stability, spontaneous polarization and dielectric relaxations in an achiral ferroelectric bent liquid crystal, PBUOB

The occurrence of ferroelelectric phases and influence of chemical moieties in the area of supra-molecular achiral Bent core Liquid Crystals (BLCs) are reviewed. Synthesis of an intermediate/higher homolog of PBnOB series (for n=11), PBUOB, viz. 1,3−Phenyline-Bis(4−UndecylOxy Benzoate), is presented. Smectic LC phases exhibited by PBUOB are characterized by Polarized Optical Microscopy (POM), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Spontaneous Polarization (P_S) techniques. Observations infer a bi-variant FE LC smectic phase occurrence, viz., isotropic→B₂(FE)→B₅(FE)→solid phases in cooling and solid→B₅→isotropic phases in heating scans. Occurrence of B₂ phase is monotropic (in cooling), while B₅ phase is enantiotropic. I-B₂ and B₂-B₅ phase transitions are found to be of first order nature. The FE phases possess a moderate P_S value of ∼40 nC cm⁻². Transition temperatures from dielectric studies agree with those from TM and DSC. Two modes of relaxations are observed, viz., a slow scissor mode at ∼1 kHz and a fast mode at ∼1 MHz. Anisotropic Dipolar Model is proposed to explain the reorientation mechanism. Arrhenius shifts of Relaxation Frequency (f_R) show differing activation energies for two modes, i.e., 0.11 and 0.98 eV; 0.25 and 1.18 eV in B₂ and B₅ phases, respectively. Temperature variation of dielectric increment Δε and α-parameter LC phases reveals the relative fixture of dipole moment in polar smectic layers. An analytical study for the thermal stability, P_S and f_R in the FE phases is presented with respect to the constitution and configuration of moieties in BLCs.     

Twist disclination system in a planar sample of chiral smectic C* liquid crystal

In thick samples of Sm C^* liquid crystals the helicoidal structure in the sample centre is connected to the unwound structure near sample surfaces by a regular system of (?2π) and (+2π)-twist disclinations associated in rows near the upper and lower sample surfaces. The geometry and stability of such a disclination system in a high electric field is investigated and the critical electric field causing the disclination annihilation is estimated. The mutual disclination annihilation is the proposed mechanism for the field induced transition from helicoidal Sm C^* structure to unwound Sm C^* structure with the twist along the sample thickness.     

Universal scaling of dielectric response of various liquid crystals and glass-forming liquids

Abstract

We present a new generalized scaling relationship accounting both for the real and imaginary parts of the complex permittivity data. The generalized scaling procedure has been successfully used for various relaxation processes in liquid crystals (4-bromobenzylidene-4′-pentyloxyaniline, 4-bromobenzylidene-4′-hexyloxyaniline, 4′-butyl-4-(2-methylbutoxy)-azoxybenzene, 4-ethyl-4′-octylazoxybenzene), and in glass-forming liquids (glycerol, propylene carbonate, salol, cresolphthalein-dimethylether). As it is shown, one obtains common master-curve for liquid-like phases (isotropic liquid, cholesteric, nematic, smectic A), solid-like phases (smectic B, conformationally disorder crystal) and supercooled liquid phase.     

Field-induced phase transitions in chiral smectic liquid crystals studied by the constant current method

In ferroelectric liquid crystals, phase transitions can be induced by an electric field. The current constant method allows these transition to be quickly localized and thus the(E, T) phase diagram of the studied product can be obtained.In this work, we make a slight modification to the measurement principles based on this method. This modification allows the characteristic parameters of ferroelectric liquid crystal to be quantitatively measured. The use of a current square signal highlights a phenomenon of ferroelectric hysteresis with remnant polarization at null field, which points out an effect of memory in this compound.