Crystal → nematic phase transition in the liquid crystalline system 1‐isothiocyanato‐4‐(trans‐4‐propylcyclohexyl) benzene (3CHBT) probed by temperature‐dependent micro‐Raman study and DFT calculations

Raman spectra of 3CHBT in unoriented form were recorded at 14 different temperature measurements in the range 25–55 °C, which covers the crystal → nematic (N) phase transition, and the Raman signatures of the phase transition were identified. The wavenumber shifts and linewidth changes of Raman marker bands with varying temperature were determined. The assignments of important vibrational modes of 3CHBT were also made using the experimentally observed Raman and infrared spectra, calculated wavenumbers, and potential energy distribution. The DFT calculations using the B3LYP method employing 6‐31G functional were performed for geometry optimization and vibrational spectra of monomer and dimer of 3CHBT. The analysis of the vibrational bands, especially the variation of their peak position as a function of temperature in two different spectral regions, 1150–1275 cm⁻¹ and 1950–2300 cm⁻¹, is discussed in detail. Both the linewidth and peak position of the ( C H ) in‐plane bending and ν(NCS) modes, which give Raman signatures of the crystal → N phase transition, are discussed in detail. The molecular dynamics of this transition has also been discussed. We propose the co‐existence of two types of dimers, one in parallel and the other in antiparallel arrangement, while going to the nematic phase. The structure of the nematic phase in bulk has also been proposed in terms of these dimers. The red shift of the ν(NCS) band and blue shift of almost all other ring modes show increased intermolecular interaction between the aromatic rings and decreased intermolecular interaction between two  NCS groups in the nematic phase. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Phonon anomalies and structural transition in spin ice Dy2Ti2O7: a simultaneous pressure‐dependent and temperature‐dependent Raman study

We revisit the assignment of Raman phonons of rare‐earth titanates by performing Raman measurements on single crystals of O¹⁸ isotope‐rich spin ice and nonmagnetic pyrochlores and compare the results with their O¹⁶ counterparts. We show that the low‐wavenumber Raman modes below 250 cm⁻¹ are not due to oxygen vibrations. A mode near 200 cm⁻¹, commonly assigned as F_2g phonon, which shows highly anomalous temperature dependence, is now assigned to a disorder‐induced Raman active mode involving Ti⁴⁺ vibrations. Moreover, we address here the origin of the ‘new’ Raman mode, observed below T_C ~ 110 K in Dy₂Ti₂O₇, through a simultaneous pressure‐dependent and temperature‐dependent Raman study. Our study confirms the ‘new’ mode to be a phonon mode. We find that dT_C/dP = + 5.9 K/GPa. Temperature dependence of other phonons has also been studied at various pressures up to ~8 GPa. We find that pressure suppresses the anomalous temperature dependence. The role of the inherent vacant sites present in the pyrochlore structure in the anomalous temperature dependence is also discussed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Doping effect on the phase transition temperature in ferroelectric SrBi2−xNdxNb2O9 layer‐structured ceramics: a micro‐Raman scattering study

The temperature dependence of Raman spectra for SrBi_2−xNd_xNb₂O₉ ceramics (x from 0 to 0.2) has been studied in a wide temperature range from 80 to 873 K. It is found that the peak position of the A_1g[Nb] phonon mode at 207 cm^–1, which is directly associated with the distortion of NbO₆ octahedron, decreases with increasing Nd composition, while the A_1g[O] phonon mode at 835 cm^–1 increases. Moreover, both the peak position and intensity of the A_1g[Nb] phonon mode reveal strong anomalies around the ferroelectric to paraelectric phase transition temperature. It indicates that the phase transition temperature decreases from about 710 to 550 K with increasing Nd composition, which is due to the fact that the introduction of Nd ions in the Bi₂O₂ layers reduces the distortion extent of NbO₆ octahedron. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Raman spectrum of the γ′‐V2O5 polymorph: a combined experimental and DFT study

Structure and vibrational dynamics of γ′‐V₂O₅ synthesized from a pristine γ‐LiV₂O₅ sample via a chemical oxidation route was studied by means of Raman spectroscopy and quantum‐chemical calculations. The calculations based on density functional theory reliably reproduce the experimental structure of the γ′‐V₂O₅ lattice. The calculated Raman spectrum agrees remarkably well with the experimental one. Making use of the agreement, a complete assignment of Raman bands to vibrations of particular structural units is proposed. The comparison of Raman spectra and structural features of α‐V₂O₅ and γ′‐V₂O₅ polymorphs allowed establishing reliable ‘structure–spectrum’ correlations and identifying Raman peaks characteristic for different structural units. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tuning of phonon anharmonicity in pyrochlore titanates: temperature‐dependent Raman studies of Sm2Ti2‐xZrxO7 (x=0, 1/2, 3/4, and 2) and stuffed spin‐ice Ho2 + xTi2 − xO7 − x/2 (x=0, 1/3, and 2/3)

Anomalous temperature dependence of Raman phonon wavenumbers attributed to phonon–phonon anharmonic interactions has been studied in two different families of pyrochlore titanates. We bring out the role of the ionic size of titanium and the inherent vacancies of pyrochlore in these anomalies by studying the effect of replacement of Ti^{4 +} by Zr^{4 +} in Sm₂Ti₂O₇ and by stuffing Ho^{3 +} in place of Ti^{4 +} in Ho₂Ti₂O₇ with appropriate oxygen stoichiometry. Our results show that an increase in the concentration of the larger ion, i.e. Zr^{4 +} or Ho^{3 +}, reduces the phonon anomalies, thus implying a decrease in the phonon–phonon anharmonic interactions. In addition, we find signatures of coupling between a phonon and crystal field transition in Sm₂Ti₂O₇, manifested as an unusual increase in the phonon intensity with increasing temperature. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Raman noncoincidence effect of the ν(CO) band of ME6N liquid crystal across the nematic–isotropic phase transition studied by a micro‐spectroscopy experiment

The Raman spectroscopic noncoincidence effect (NCE) of the ν(CO) band of the liquid crystal ME6N (4‐cyanophenyl‐4′‐hexylbenzoate) has been measured at different temperatures (47–52 °C) around the nematic‐isotropic phase transition (47.8 °C) employing a micro‐Raman experiment under confocal conditions and performed on a homogeneously aligned thin sample. The low value of NCE (0.9 cm⁻¹) obtained over the whole temperature range suggests that the orientational structure of the liquid crystal in both phases is governed by the steric hindrances in the proximity of the carbonyl group, rather than by dipolar interactions. This hypothesis is supported by the results of a supplementary investigation of the NCE of the ν(CO) Raman band in liquid ketones and esters, made progressively more hampered by the insertion of bulky (phenyl) groups in proximity of the carbonyl group. The NCE of the ν(CO) band, in fact, decreases from 5.5 cm⁻¹ in acetone (the less hampered) to 0.7 cm⁻¹ in benzophenone (the most hampered among the studied ketones), and from 6.2 cm⁻¹ in methyl acetate (the less hampered) to 2.2 cm⁻¹ in phenyl benzoate (the most hampered among the studied esters). To our best knowledge, this represents the first attempt to analyze the NCE in terms of steric hindrance of the substituents around the target oscillator. A parallel analysis of the difference between the anisotropic and the isotropic bandwidths of the ν(CO) Raman band in these molecular liquids indicates that reorientational dynamics plays only a marginal role, if any. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A computational study of the thermolysis of β‐hydroxy ketones in gas phase and in m‐xylene solution

Theoretical calculations at the M05‐2X/6‐31+G(d) level of theory have been carried out in order to explore the nature of the mechanism of the thermal decomposition reactions of the β‐hydroxy ketones, 4‐hydroxy‐2‐butanone, 4‐hydroxy‐2‐pentanone, and 4‐hydroxy‐2‐methyl‐2‐pentanone in gas phase and in m‐xylene solution. The mechanism proposed is a one‐step process proceeding through a six‐membered cyclic transition state. A reasonable agreement between experimental and calculated activation parameters and rate constants has been obtained, the tertiary : secondary : primary alcohol rate constant ratio being calculated, at T = 503.15 K, as 5.9:4.7:1.0 in m‐xylene solution and 44.1:5.0:1.0 in the gas phase, compared with the experimental values, 3.7:1.3:1.0 and 13.5:3.2:1.0, respectively. The progress of the thermal decomposition reactions of β‐hydroxy ketones has been followed by means of the Wiberg bond indices. The lengthening of the O₁–C₂ bond with the initial migration of the H₆ atom from O₅ to O₁ can be seen as the driving force for the studied reactions. Calculated synchronicity values indicate that the mechanisms correspond to concerted and highly synchronous processes. The transition states are “advanced”, nearer to the products than to the reactants. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tuning the absorption spectra and nonlinear optical properties of D‐π‐A azobenzene derivatives by changing the dipole moment and conjugation length: a theoretical study

The optical properties of several azobenzene derivatives were modulated by varying the dipole moments and conjugation lengths of the D‐π‐A systems. The relationship between the structure and absorption spectrum and polarizability was studied in the gas phase, THF and MeOH solutions, respectively, by using the density functional theory. The calculated absorption spectra and second‐order polarizabilities are in good agreement with the available experimental observations. In comparison with the D‐π‐A monomer, the H‐shaped D‐π‐A dimer almost doubles the dipole moments and hence increases the second‐order polarizabilities, without a significant shift in the maximum absorption bands. The addition of another azobenzol group between electron‐donating and ‐accepting groups increases the second‐order polarizabilities by 4–6 times, but leads to an evident red‐shift of about 65–80 nm in spectra. The relative second‐order polarizability of the halogen‐substituted derivatives is in the sequence of ? CF₃ > ? F > ? Cl > ? Br, without obvious substituent effects on the optical transparency. The D‐π‐A chromophores with the strong electron‐donating (amino) and ‐accepting (acetyl) substituent present the larger second‐order polarizabilities, at the cost of about 20 nm red‐shift of the maximum absorption lengths relative to the halogen‐substituted species. It is also demonstrated that both the linear and nonlinear optical properties augment with the increase in solvent polarity, accompanied by a red‐shift in the wavelengths of maximum absorption by about 18 and 23 nm, respectively, in THF and MeOH solutions. The changes in optical properties upon the structural modifications are further rationalized by the electronic structures of various H‐shaped dimers. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Detection of a new SRS‐promoting phonon mode and cross‐cascaded χ(3)‐nonlinear lasing in single crystals of calcite (trigonal CaCO3)

For calcite (CaCO₃), one of the pioneer crystals in nonlinear optics, new results of stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) spectroscopy are presented. Among them are the discovery of a new SRS‐promoting vibration mode with ω_SRS2 ≈︁ 282 cm^‐1 and its participation, together with the main SRS mode ω_SRS1 ≈︁ 1086.5 cm^‐1, in cross‐cascaded (χ⁽³⁾ ↔ χ⁽³⁾) nonlinear‐lasing generation, as well as the observation of efficient self‐upconversion via cascaded parametric four‐wave processes of one‐micron Stokes and anti‐Stokes χ⁽³⁾‐lasing into the UV‐region of third harmonic generation. The investigations show that calcite is able to generate a χ⁽³⁾‐lasing comb of more than two octaves bandwidth. The article also gives a brief review on the discovery and study of the SRS‐effect in natural crystals (minerals), which have expanded our ability to study the photon‐phonon nonlinear‐laser interactions in crystalline materials. A short summary of information about χ⁽³⁾‐lasing properties of the triangular planar structure units in SRS‐active crystals is included.