The synthesis of the chiral non-mesogenic d-seco estrone derivatives and their influence on the phase transitions of cholesteric liquid crystals

The synthesis of new chiral seco-estrone derivatives is presented, as well as their influence on the phase transition of binary mixtures of cholesteryc liquid crystals. The new chiral derivatives do not posses any liquid crystalline phases and were synthesized in several synthetic steps, starting from estrone. We have studied the mixtures of cholesteryl non-anoate (40%) with cholesteryl myristate (40%) and addition of new chiral derivatives 3 4, or 5 (20%). It was concluded that the addition of chiral derivative 3 to the binary mixture stabilizes smectic A and cholesteric phase and shifts the phase transition temperature with respect to pure binary mixture for about 5°C towards lower temperatures. The extension of the temperature range of the cholesteric phase from 5°C to 15°C was established in the case when the derivatives 3 and 4 are added to the binary mixture of cholesteryl nonanoate with cholesteryl myristate. The phase diagrams of investigated compounds are formed on the basis of data obtained by the optical microscopy. Using X-ray diffraction on the crystalline powder of unoriented samples we have determined the molecular parameters: the thickness of smectic and cholesteric layers and average distance between the long axes of neighboring molecules.     

Phase studies and thermal stability of binary systems of cholesteric liquid crystals

The binary mixture of cholesteryl oleyl carbonate (COC) and cholesteryl nonanoate (CN) with different ratios has been characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to determine the phase diagrams. Their normal shelf-life and accelerated stability studies were also examined. A novel microscopic Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrometer equipped with DSC was also used to measure simultaneously the chemical structural variation and the thermal response of these liquid crystals. The results indicate that the binary mixture might transform from smectic to cholesteric and then to isotropic liquid (CN composition <50%); from solid to cholesteric and then to isotropic liquid (CN composition >50%). Therefore, the 50% CN composition might play a critical role in the phase transition of the binary COC-CN mixture. The microscopic FT-IR/DSCsystem could also confirm the phase transition, but could measure the phase trasition temperature of liquid crystals more easily and sharply than the DSC method. The long-term accelerated thermal stability of the COC-CN mixture seemed to be more constant when stored at 4 °C than in any other temperature conditions.     

Logarithmic divergence of the shear viscosity in the isotropic phase of two cholesterics

The transition from the isotropic liquid to the cholesteric blue phase in cholesteryl oleyl carbonate and cholesteryl oleyl carbonate and cholesteryl oleate is accompanied by an anomaly in the shear viscosity which follows a pseudocritical logarithmic divergence as a function of temperature.     

Piezoelectric effect in liquid crystals

A piezoelectric effect has been observed in a cholesteric liquid crystal layer (an electric field effect type, a mixture of cholesteryl oleyl carbonate, cholesteryl chloride and cholesteryl nonanoate) [1]. The layer, subjected to shear vibration, generates an alternating electric potential of the same frequency as the exciting vibration. In the present paper an extension of these investigations is reported to cases with various mixing ratios and also to one of smectic liquid crystals (lecithin with water). For a cholesteric liquid crystal of a particular mixing ratio, the strength of the electric generation is found to reach as high as 450 mV(p-p) for a vibratory shear displacement of 1 μm(p-p) under a certain molecular orientation preparation. Small electric generation is also observed for the above smectic liquid crystal but not for the nematic liquid crystals (MBBA and EBBA). A simple continuum elasticity model can qualitatively explain the behaviour of this electric potential generation.     

Costa ribeiro effect in some cholesteryl esters

In this paper we confirm the existence of the thermodielectric effect at phase transitions of some cholesteryl esters (cholesteryl chloride, cholesteryl nonanoate and cholesteryl laurate). Significant sudden variations of the potential difference across the samples were detected at solid crystal → isotropic, isotropic → mesophase phase transitions of these liquid crystals. The variations are due to the formation of thermodielectric electrets by spontaneous polarization. The phase transitions are identified and their temperatures are in agreement with the literature.     

Thermally switchable flexible liquid crystal devices in prepolymer-doped cholesteric liquid crystals

This work describes an approach for fabricating thermally switchable flexible liquid crystal devices in prepolymer-doped cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs). The roughness of the UV-cured polymer film eliminates the stability of planar CLCs, allowing the textures in the UV-cured regions to be changed from planar to focal conic. Impurities associated with doping with prepolymers cause the clearing temperature of LCs in the UV-cured regions to differ from that in the uncured regions as the prepolymers are polymerized. Therefore, the textures in these two regions can be switched by controlling the temperature. Thermally switchable flexible LC devices, such as optically addressed smart cards, light valves, and others, can be realized using this approach.     

High resolution off-magic-angle spinning NMR for cholesteric liquid crystals

High resolution NMR of cholesteric liquid crystals is realized by off-magic-angle spinning (OMAS). Using the average potential theory, it is shown that the pitch axes of a cholesteric liquid crystal with a positive (negative) magnetic susceptibility anisotropy are aligned along the spinning axis with an OMAS angle larger (smaller) than the magic angle without any distortion of the helical structure, which is untwisted or distorted by the static magnetic field in some static samples. Hence, the line broadening due to the anisotropies of chemical shifts and/or quadrupole couplings is removed, while information of the anisotropies in cholesteric alignments can be obtained from the line positions. A detailed theoretical analysis of effects of spinning frequency and molecular diffusion along the pitch axis on the linewidth is given, predicting that the resolution is improved greatly at a spinning frequency much higher than the rotational diffusion coefficient. These theoretical results are verified by ¹³C OMAS experiments on a cholesteric liquid crystal of p-ethoxybenzyl-p-[(S)-2- methylbutyl]aniline (EBMBA) and cholesteric mixtures of p-methoxybenzylidene-p-n-butylaniline (MBBA) and cholesteryl chloride (CC).     

Self-Assembled Multistable Scattering Mode for Versatile Energy-Saving Smart Windows

Smart windows are crucial to dynamic control over light transmission to fulfill various demands in energy saving, privacy, and information display; however, most present technologies still perform a single function (often tint or haze adjustment) and require continuous electricity for operation. In this study, novel self-assembled ionic liquid crystals (ILCs) doped with negative cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs) to offer electrically switchable and stable scattering-mode light modulators are presented. The novel smectic A phase based on the ILCs exhibits high solubility in the adopted nematics, enhancing the LC device's performance in several ways, including improved homogeneity, stable alignment quality, prolonged stability, and simplified fabrication. The LC device can potentially offer a dynamically rapid switching function between stable transparent (imperfect fingerprint textures) states and stable scattering (focal conic textures with small domains) states by using external stimuli and highly maintained multistable states for prolonged periods, even when the external stimuli are removed. The LC device also offers polarization-independent scattering and transparent-mode LC light modulators, low operating voltage, excellent contrast, and broad viewing angles. Its versatility and outstanding field-off stability make it ideal for various applications such as smart lighting, building climate control, energy-saving displays, and augmented reality (AR) glasses.     

Determination of the liquid crystals phase transition temperatures using optical rotation effect

Using optical rotation effect, a sensitive, simple optical analytical system is developed for determining the phase transition temperatures of liquid crystals (LCs). When a monochromatic polarized light passes through LCs sample and analyzer, the light intensity changes with temperature. Especially, during the phase transition process, the intensity varies greatly due to optical rotation effect. The variation of light intensity versus variation of temperature curve shows the phase transition temperatures of LCs clearly. The phase transition temperatures of three cholesteric liquid crystals (ChLCs) and a nematic liquid crystals (NLCs) were detected by this method, and compared with those of the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarized light microscope (PLM) methods.     

Texture transitions in the liquid crystalline alkyloxybenzoic acid 6OBAC

The 4,n-alkyloxybenzoic acid 6OBAC has a very rich variety of crystalline structures and two nematic sub-phases, characterised by different textures. It is a material belonging to a family of liquid crystals formed by hydrogen bonded molecules, the 4,n-alkyloxybenzoic acids (n indicates the homologue number). The homologues with 7?≤?n?≤?13 display both smectic C and N phases. In spite of the absence of a smectic phase, 6OBAC exhibits two sub-phases with different textures, as it happens in other materials of the homologue series which possess the smectic phase. This is the first material that exhibits a texture transition in a nematic phase directly originating from a crystal phase. Here we present the results of an image processing assisted optical investigation to characterise the textures and the transitions between textures. This processing is necessary to discriminate between crystal modifications and nematic sub-phases.     

An image processing study of a reentrant discotic cholesteric – biaxial cholesteric phase transition

In this work, we study and characterize the cholesteric sequence of phases (Ch_Dr ? Ch_B ? Ch_D), where the first Ch_Dr is the reentrant cholesteric discotic phase, Ch_B is the cholesteric biaxial phase and the second Ch_D is the cholesteric discotic phase. This sequence of phases is studied through polarized light microscopy and image processing technique, where, for the first time, the domains and borders of these transitions are established and characterized. They are also investigated and optically characterized throughout their textures.     

Optical anisotropy of some cholesteryl esters of fatty acids

Assuming the Neugebauer relations to be valid we have made calculations with regard to the effective polarizabilities and hence the optical anisotropy in smectic and cholesteric mesophases of five cholesteryl esters of fatty acids. The variation of optical anisotropy as a function of temperature and the change in optical anisotropy as we pass from the lowest temperature in the smectic phase to the lowest temperature of the cholesteric phase are correlated with the number of C-C bonds in the alkyl end groups of the molecules. It emerges that the end groups do not contribute significantly to the effective optical anisotropy owing to the existence of rotational isomerism.     

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.     

Phase transitions in ferroelectric liquid crystals

Molecular chirality plays an important role in the science of liquid crystals, leading to cholesteric liquid crystal, blue phases, ferroelectric and antiferroelectric smectic phases and twist grain boundary phases. In all of these mesogens, chirality is an intrinsic property built into the chemical structure of mesogenic molecules. The study of ferroelectric liquid crystals has seen substantial experimental strides. In theoretical aspects, there has been relatively little basic work on this fascinating class of material. This review will try to present a comprehensive overview of the current status of the phase transitions in ferroelectric smectic liquid crystals. The article begins with a brief introduction about the symmetry and structure of ferroelectric mesophases. An attempt is made to identify a range of problems and related questions associated with the study of phase transitions. In the remaining parts of the article the important experimental and theoretical developments are summarized. Finally, some of the future directions have been identified.     

横向电场对平面织构胆甾相液晶螺距及反射特性的影响

阐述一种理论模型,讨论共面转换（IPS）模式下横向电场对平面织构胆甾相液晶螺距及扭曲角的影响．利用琼斯矩阵法计算了光正入射情况下未加电场时胆甾相液晶的反射谱．在上述模型基础上,计算了施加电场后胆甾相液晶的反射峰值波长以及反射带宽随场强的变化关系．探讨了忽略锚定与强锚定两种边界条件下横向电场对平面织构胆甾相液晶螺距及反射特性的影响．所得结论在理论上证实：共面转换模式下电场可以调谐胆甾相液晶的反射光颜色,从而为基于电控螺距原理的胆甾相液晶反射式彩色显示方案提供了理论上的依据． 关键词： 胆甾相液晶 电控螺距 共面转换 琼斯矩阵法     

Comparative Investigations of Light Transmission in Aligned and Non-aligned Textures of Homogeneous Mixtures of 4-n-alkyl-4′-Cyanibiphenyl Mesogens at Direct and Reverse <Emphasis Type="Italic">smectic A</Emphasis> ↔ <Emphasis Type="Italic">isotropic liquid</Emphasis> Phase Transitions

The thermo-optical properties of various types of textures (the homeotropic, planar, and tilted aligned and non-aligned textures) in liquid crystalline materials with smectic A mesophase have been investigated. Investigations have been carried out for large temperature interval and at the direct smectic A mesophase–isotropic liquid (SmA–I) and isotropic liquid–smectic A mesophase (I–SmA) phase transitions that have been carried out. Homogeneous mixtures of 4-n-octyl-4′-cyanobiphenyl with 4-n-decyl-4′-cyanobiphenyl were the objects of the investigations. Temperature dependences of the optical transmission for aligned and non-aligned textures have been measured. Temperature widths of the heterophase regions for the SmA–I and I–SmA phase transitions have been determined. The temperature shift in the optical transmission dependences to low temperatures for the reverse I–SmA phase transition temperatures and the thermal hysteresis has been found for the aligned and non-aligned textures.     

Changes of thermo-morphologic and thermotropic properties of liquid crystals at direct and reverse nematic mesophase ↔ isotropic liquid phase transitions: surface-induced effect

In this work, the effect of thin films on the thermo-morphologic and thermotropic properties of the phase transitions between the nematic mesophase and isotropic liquid has been investigated. Investigations have been carried out for both the heating and cooling processes. The temperature and linear widths of the biphasic regions of the direct and reverse phase transitions in nematic liquid crystals versus thickness of the thin films have been calculated with a high accuracy. The shift of the nematic mesophase–isotropic liquid and the isotropic liquid–nematic mesophase phase transition temperatures to higher temperatures and the enlargement of the temperature and linear widths of the biphasic regions as the effect of surfaces have been found.     

Induced birefringence in the isotropic phase of cholesteric liquid crystals

The birefringence induced by an acoustic field in the isotropic phase of the cholesteryl myristate cholesteric liquid crystal has been measured. The measurements were performed at sound frequencies of 3.2 and 9.8 MHz in a wide temperature range. Based on the results of the measurements of the induced birefringence, the relaxation time of the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules is estimated.     

The intrinsic pitch of cholesteryl nonanoate

The cholesteric pitch of mixtures of cholesteryl nonanoate and cholesteryl chloride has been measured as a function of temperature and concentration. The results are extrapolated to yield the intrinsic pitch of pure cholester nonanoate and its temperature coefficient. It is argued that this knowledge of the intrinsic pitch is important in analyzing the pitch divergence near the smectic-A transition.     

Gradient measurement technique to identify phase transitions in nano-dispersed liquid crystalline compounds

Characterization and phase transitions in pure and 0.5% BaTiO₃ nano-dispersed liquid crystalline (LC) N-(p-n-heptyloxybenzylidene)-p-n-nonyloxy aniline, 7O.O9, com-pounds are carried out using a polarizing microscope attached with hot stage and camera. We observed that when any of these images are distorted, different local structures suffer from various degradations in a gradient magnitude. So, we examined the pixel-wise gradient magnitude similarity between the reference and distorted images combined with a novel pooling strategy – the standard deviation of the GMS map – to determine the overall phase transition variations. In this regard, MATLAB software is used for gradient measurement technique to identify the phase transitions and transition temperature of the pure and nano-dispersed LC compounds. The image analysis of this method proposed is in good agreement with the standard methods like polarizing microscope (POM) and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). 0.5% BaTiO₃ nano-dispersed 7O.O9 compound induces cholesteric phase quenching the nematic phase, which the pure compound exhibits.