高分子液晶向列相的向错结构

高分子液晶态向错结构在正交偏振片下呈现出具有不同数目黑刷子的纹影织构，是由于分子指向矢取向排列上的不连续性所引起的一种光学效应。近年来，高分子液晶态向错结构的研究已取得了较大进展，发展和应用片晶装饰、条带织构装饰和表面裂纹装饰等技术可以在电镜和偏光显微镜下直接观察各种向错结构。本文简要介绍高分子液晶态向列相的向错和反转壁结构的几何学、高强度向错以及近年在实验上观察各类型向错形态的研究进展。     

条带织构装饰技术观察含T─型液晶基元的热致性聚芳酯液晶态的向错

采用条带织构装饰新技术研究了含Ｔ─型液晶基元的热致性聚芳酯液晶态的向错形态．经过培养的液晶样品无需剪切，淬火后便可呈现出围绕向错点取向排列的条带织构，而条带织构长轴的垂直方向正代表了液晶基元的指向矢方向，这样，在普通偏光显微镜下就能直接观察到这些条带织构装饰的强度Ｓ＝±１／２和Ｓ＝±１的向错，并观察到Ｓ＝－３／２的高强度向错和闭环状的反转壁．     

条带织构装饰技术观察含T─型液晶基元的热致性聚芳酯液晶态的向错

采用条带织构装饰新技术研究了含Ｔ─型液晶基元的热致性聚芳酯液晶态的向错形态．经过培养的液晶样品无需剪切，淬火后便可呈现出围绕向错点取向排列的条带织构，而条带织构长轴的垂直方向正代表了液晶基元的指向矢方向，这样，在普通偏光显微镜下就能直接观察到这些条带织构装饰的强度Ｓ＝±１／２和Ｓ＝±１的向错，并观察到Ｓ＝－３／２的高强度向错和闭环状的反转壁．     

芳香共聚酯B-N多种向列织构的形态研究

 从一种聚芳酯B-N得到了丝状(包括细丝和粗丝)、纹影状和大理石纹状等与小分子向列液晶相似的多种织构。由于样品淬火后晶片装饰在织构上而不影响分子取向矢的分布,因而可以用化学刻蚀和电镜技术揭示其向错和取向矢图。电镜和光学显微镜的结果相互补充,表明了细丝和粗丝状织构的分子取向矢分布很不相同,是两种不同的织构,而粗化始于第二熔融降温。在这些向列织构中分别发现了S=±(1/2)和s=+1的向错的例子和平面内微区转向壁的证据。     

芳香共聚酯B-N多种向列织构的形态研究

从一种聚芳酯B-N得到了丝状(包括细丝和粗丝)、纹影状和大理石纹状等与小分子向列液晶相似的多种织构。由于样品淬火后晶片装饰在织构上而不影响分子取向矢的分布,因而可以用化学刻蚀和电镜技术揭示其向错和取向矢图。电镜和光学显微镜的结果相互补充,表明了细丝和粗丝状织构的分子取向矢分布很不相同,是两种不同的织构,而粗化始于第二熔融降温。在这些向列织构中分别发现了S=±(1/2)和s=+1的向错的例子和平面内微区转向壁的证据。     

片晶装饰技术研究高分子液晶向列相的向错

采用片晶装饰技术和四氧化钉染色技术相结合在透射电镜下研究了热致性高分子液晶的向错结构，在一种热致性聚芳酯的冻结液晶态中观察到了向错强度分别为Ｓ＝±１／２和Ｓ＝±１的两类共六种的向错形态，以及每个向错与其相邻向错之间相互联结和相互作用的状态．     

用条带织构装饰技术研究液晶全芳共聚酯的取向和非取向膜

用退火使条带织构装饰在全芳共聚酯的取向膜上，在偏光显微镜下同时观察到微纤和条带。微纤分三个层次，即直径分别为数十微米的微纤束、数微米的微纤和０．３微米的亚微纤，退火后三个层次的微纤松弛成不同的形态，微纤束仍笔直沿剪切方向取向，微纤松弛成螺旋形，而亚微纤松弛成波浪形从而观察到条带织构：微纤直径越小越易松弛，另一方面，非取向态织构退火后由亚微纤形成的条带装饰结果直观地揭示了微区内外分子指向矢的分布和它们在边界上的变化。退火时条带织构的形成被解释为分子的弹性回缩力缓慢发生作用使分子松弛所致。     

某些含二维液晶基元的热致液晶高分子的向列态纹影织构

发现某些含二维液晶基元的热致液晶高分子容易产生反向壁织构与含有高强度向错点(|S|大于1)的向列态纹影织构。这类液晶高分子的织构与形态学特点与含一维棒状液晶基元的其他液晶高分子不同。     

Cu－Zn－A1形状记忆合金板材的织构与弹性各向异性研究

本研究采用织构分析的三维取向分布函数法（ＯＤＦ）研究了Ｃｕ－Ｚｎ－Ａ１形状记忆合金的织构与弹性各向异性。研究结果表明：１．两相Ｃｕ－Ｚｎ－Ａｌ合金板材β－相的构与钢板相似，它在欧拉空间系由Ａ－管和Ｂ－管纤维织构组成的；而α－相的织构与冷轧黄铜板的织构相似。２．板材表面与内部的织构具有一定的差别，对于β－相的织构，这种差异明显；而对于α－相的织构只是强弱之差。３．弹性模量随与轧向偏离的角度而变，对于具有β－相的板材，在与轧向４５°方向的板材的弹性模量呈极小值，这与β－相合金具有较大的弹性各向异性因子有关，但对于α－相弹性模量随角度的变化不明显。该合金具有较大的弹性各向异性有利于马氏体相变。     

具有联苯核和悬挂基聚甲亚胺醚的液晶行为

用偏光显微镜、DSC和WAXD对新的主链型聚甲亚胺醚系列的液晶行为进行了表征,发现7种聚合物均显示向错和条带织构,其熔点呈奇偶变化规律.     

Recent advances in the observation of disclinations of main-chain nematic polymers

Experimental observation of disclinations of main-chain nematic polymers is reviewed. The geometry of disclination structure is discussed both from observations of schlieren texture and the theory of curvature elasticity for a two-dimensional case with equal splay and bend moduli. The effects of non-equal elastic moduli, the nature of the disclination core and the observation of inversion wails are briefly mentioned. Examples of experimental observation of disclinations of high topological strengths up to S=4 are given. The main experimental methods to map the director field around disclinations are 1) lamellar decoration, 2) band-texture decoration and 3) surface microcrack decoration. The methods are discussed and compared, and examples illustrated by electron micrographs or photomicrographs are presented.     

Direct decoration of disclinations by solidification-induced band texture and focal-conic texture for a low molar mass liquid crystal

Two decoration methods, solidification-induced band texture decoration and focal-conic texture decoration, were established to map the director field of disclinations in a low molar mass methacrylate liquid crystal. It was found that when the specimen film is quenched from the nematic melt to room temperature, solidification-induced band texture is observed arrayed along with the schlieren texture, and the orientation of the director field can be displayed. Moreover, when the specimen is cooled from the nematic melt to 63°C and annealed, the focal-conic texture of the smectic A phase is found to grow around the corresponding disclination core with good orientation to reveal the director field. By the two decoration techniques, the director fields of disclinations with strength s = 1/2 and s = ±1 were revealed. Two types of inversion wall, loop-like wall and splay-type wall, were found by both solidification-induced band texture decoration and focal-conic texture decoration.     

Direct decoration of disclinations by solidification-induced band texture and focal-conic texture for a low molar mass liquid crystal

Two decoration methods, solidification-induced band texture decoration and focal-conic texture decoration, were established to map the director field of disclinations in a low molar mass methacrylate liquid crystal. It was found that when the specimen film is quenched from the nematic melt to room temperature, solidification-induced band texture is observed arrayed along with the schlieren texture, and the orientation of the director field can be displayed. Moreover, when the specimen is cooled from the nematic melt to 63°C and annealed, the focal-conic texture of the smectic A phase is found to grow around the corresponding disclination core with good orientation to reveal the director field. By the two decoration techniques, the director fields of disclinations with strength s = 1/2 and s = ± 1 were revealed. Two types of inversion wall, loop-like wall and splay-type wall, were found by both solidification-induced band texture decoration and focal-conic texture decoration.     

Nature of disclination cores in liquid crystals

A disclination is an orientation symmetry-breaking defect and its strength corresponds to the number of rotations (in multiples of 2π) of the director over a path encircling the disclination. The line core plays a considerable role in the disclination energy balance and mobility, however, the detailed nature of the core structure is largely unknown. Here we demonstrate different core structures for different disclinations by using transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy coupled with the nanostripe decoration technique. We show that the molecular distribution in the core of (+1) defects changes from the prolate planar to oblate homeotropic, resembling but not identical to 'escape into the third dimension'. The homeotropic (-1) defect appears to possess an isotropic core, contrary to theoretical predictions.     

Director fields of disclinations in the nematic mesophase decorated by focal‐conic texture for side‐chain liquid crystalline polymers

A new decoration method termed as focal‐conic texture decoration has been established to map the director field of disclinations of nematic mesophases for a side‐chain liquid crystalline polymer (SCLCP) based on its transition from nematic to smectic phase with focal‐conic texture observed under a polarizing optical microscope. FT‐IR microscopy was used to ascertain the relationship between the mesogenic orientation direction and the orientation direction of focal‐conic texture, which exhibits consequently the director field of a disclination.     

Optical microscopy study for director patterns around disclinations in side-chain liquid crystalline polymer films

Polarizing optical microscopy is employed to study director fields around disclinations in side-chain liquid crystalline polymer films. Optical black brushes together with stripes around disclinations are observed. The stripes run parallel to the local director and thus decorate overall patterns of nematic director around disclinations. Three director patterns involving radial, spiral, and circular microstructures of a positive integer disclination with s = +1 and one hyperbolic pattern of a negative integer disclination with s = -1 are observed in the thin film. It is found that the specific configurations of a pair of (+1, -1) disclinations form during the late stage of annihilation. Increasing the film thickness leads to disclination instability. We observe that black four-brushes of disclinations with s = +/-1 split into black two-brushes, where two types of director patterns of disclinations with half-integer strengths of s = +/- 1/2 produce. Theoretical analysis is presented to explain this instability.     

Elastic constant anisotropy and disclination interaction in nematic polymers II. Effect of disclination interaction

A new tensorial approach introducing unequal elastic constants in a two-dimensional lattice model is applied to simulate the influence of disclination interaction on the structures of half-wedge disclinations, for the understanding of the variation of apparent elastic anisotropy ε_a measured from different disclinations in a texture (see preceding paper, part I [1]). The apparently random variation of ε_a implies that disclination interaction has a strong effect on the structure of disclinations; as elastic anisotropy increases, its impact becomes overpowering. Nevertheless the disclination interaction still acts in the same way as in the case of equal elastic constants. Analysis of the free energy of disclination pairs shows that the structures of both +1/2 and -1/2 disclinations are changed under the influence of a neighbouring disclination, but in different ways. For +1/2 disclination, the splay and bend distortions vary with the relative orientation of its -1/2 neighbour. Meanwhile, for -1/2 disclination, the bend and splay distortions are remarkably insensitive to the relative orientation of its +1/2 disclination neighbour.     

Elastic constant anisotropy and disclination interaction in nematic polymers I. Apparent variation in anisotropy

This work presents the effect of elastic anisotropy and disclination interaction on wedge disclinations in the nematic phase of thermotropic polymers, by combining experimental measurements, (this paper part I), with numerical simulation (part II [1]). In part I, the decoration provided by spontaneous banded texture gives much information about the defect structure of polymeric nematics. Working with a semi-rigid polyester, the optical images of +1/2 disclinations revealed by banding enable the distortion to be determined as a function of polar coordinates from the cores. Continuum theory allows the apparent elastic anisotropy, ε_a, of bend and splay constants of the copolyester to be determined from the distortion measurement. The values of ε_a, are seen to vary greatly in the range -1 to +1 between different +1/2 disclinations in the same sample. The statistics of the measurement indicate that the distribution of the values of ε_a is random. The implication of these observations is that the curvature of wedge disclinations is affected not only by the elastic anisotropy of the material, but also by other factors. The possible reasons are discussed: the interaction of neighbouring disclinations has been numerically analysed to be the predominant factor in [1]. This work also implies that values of the intrinsic elastic anisotropy obtained by measuring the distortion of individual wedge disclinations must be viewed with some circumspection.     

Conservation of disclination strength in two-dimensional lattice models of liquid crystalline textures

The disclination strength defined on the boundary of textures generated by recently proposed simple modelling methods appears to be the sum of the strengths of primitive disclinations inside the boundary. In this paper, a rationalization is provided for these observations in two dimensions using an analytical expression for the conservation law for wedge type disclinations.