Orientational fluctuations and phase transitions in 8CB confined by cylindrical pores of the PET film

Abstract

Results of optical investigations of the isotropic-nematic and nematic-smectic A phase transitions in porous polyethyleneterephthalate (PET) films filled with octyl-cyanobihenyl (8CB) liquid crystal (LC) are reported. Samples of porous films of thickness 23 µm with normally oriented cylindrical pores of a radius R ranging from 10 nm to 1000 nm were prepared using the track-etched membrane technology. The dynamic light scattering method was used to probe the nematic orientational fluctuations of confined LC samples. The corresponding relaxation time τ was measured as a function of R and temperature T at slow enough cooling rates (0.3–0.6 K/h) to locate the phase transition temperatures. Changes in τ(T) dependencies relatively sensitivity fingerprint the LC phase transformations. Experimental results are analysed using the Landau-de Gennes-Ginzburg phenomenological approach.     

Molecular Ordering of a Nematogen at Phase Transition Temperature - A Theoretical Study

Molecular ordering in 4-cyano-4'- n -propylbiphenyl ( CB3 ), a nematic liquid crystal, has been studied with the help of intermolecular interaction energy calculations. The CNDO / 2 method has been employed to compute the net atomic charge and atomic dipole moment at each atomic centre. Modified Rayleigh-Schrodinger perturbation theory along with multicentered-multipole expansion method has been employed to evaluate long-range intermolecular interactions, while a ' 6-exp ' potential function has been assumed for short-range interactions. The interaction energy values obtained through these computations were used to calculate the probability of each configuration at the phase transition temperature using Maxwell-Boltzmann formula. All possible geometrical arrangements between molecular pair have been considered during stacking, in-plane and terminal interactions. An attempt has been made to identify the most probable configuration at the phase transition temperature during stacking, in-plane and terminal interactions. Results obtained have been discussed in the light of experimental as well as other theoretical observations.     

Visible spectroscopy of 5CB/8CB liquid crystals

Electro-optical properties of nematic liquid crystals (LCs) have attracted a great deal of research interest and have resulted in a number of practical applications in many areas. In the present study, wavelength dependence of electro-optical properties of two different types of nematic LCs and their binary mixtures are investigated. LCs used in this study are 5CB and 8CB and their mixtures in different proportions. The optical transmittance of the structures has been studied by means of visible spectroscopy by measuring the transmitted light intensity as a function of the wavelength under various driving AC electric field values. Experiments were carried out at the wavelength interval 380–780 nm at a constant temperature of 25 °C in order to see the effect of the applied field alone.     

Low-temperature photoluminescence of 5CB liquid crystal

The photoluminescence spectra of the 4-n-pentyl-4′-cyanobiphenyl (5CB) liquid crystal have been investigated in detail at low temperatures 4.2-200 K, for the first time. The spectral data obtained are compared to the results of the luminescence study for the 5CB nematic phase at Т=300 K. The luminescence of the 5CB crystal state is characterized by emissions of both monomer and dimer structures. Besides, there are several energetically and conformationally non-equivalent types of monomers and dimers, and their amounts change with the temperature growth non-monotonously. The 5CB several crystal modifications, having different 5CB monomer and dimer conformers, have been found out below T=160 K. The 5CB crystal-crystal transition at Т=80 K is characterized with a total loss of the fine structure in the 5CB photoluminescence spectrum and a disappearance of the spectral band at 343 nm. At T=140 K, a new spectral band at 424 nm appears; it corresponds to the significantly overlapping 5CB dimers, its intensity grows under further heating. The present investigation gives a tool for the further characterization of the molecular alignments and changes in the 5CB molecular conformations, using the monomer and excimer fluorescence emissions as a probe. The conclusions made are confirmed by the IR-spectroscopy data, measured and analyzed for the 5CB in the same temperature region.     

Electron beam irradiation induced changes in liquid-crystal compound 5CB

Electron beam irradiation studies on liquid crystal material 5CB have been carried out at a temperature where the compound exists in the isotropic liquid phase. In situ time-resolved spectroscopic characterization was carried out during the irradiation. Three different transients were observed during the 2-μs electron pulse. After about 50 μs, only one transient species was found to be present, which has an absorption peak at 360 nm. Radiolysed sample exhibits a broad absorption at ∼400 nm. The dielectric measurements show that even a low level of irradiation results in a dramatic increase in the component of dielectric permittivity normal to the long axes of the molecules ε_⊥^′, and a corresponding decrease in the dielectric anisotropy (Δε′=ε_∥^′−ε_⊥^′ ). These studies show that 5CB is prone to substantial radiation damage on exposure to the beam of high-energy electrons.     

光谱型椭偏仪对各向异性液晶层的测量

探讨了利用普通光谱型椭偏仪对各向异性液晶层进行综合性测量的可行性. 并利用法国Jobin Yvon公司的UVISEL SPME(Spectroscopic Phase Modulated Ellipsometer)光谱型椭偏仪测量了光学各向异性液晶层的折射率n_o和n_e及液晶层厚d，进一步利用椭偏仪在透射方式下测量了平行排列液晶层的光延迟特性Δnd，二者取得了很好的一致性，说明利用光谱型椭偏仪可以实现对光学单轴性液晶层及其他材料的测量，测厚精度为纳米量级. 关键词： 光谱型椭偏仪 各向异性 折射率 相位延迟     

Diffusion studies in confined nematic liquid crystals by MAS PFG NMR

Pulsed field gradient (PFG) NMR and magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR have been combined in order to measure the diffusion coefficients of liquid crystals in confined geometry. Combination of MAS NMR with PFG NMR has a higher spectroscopic resolution in comparison with conventional PFG NMR and improves the application of NMR diffusometry to liquid crystals. It is found that the confinement of the liquid crystal 5CB in porous glasses with mean pore diameters of 30 and 200 nm does not notably change its diffusion behavior in comparison with the bulk state.     

液晶空间光调制器相位调制测量及波前校正

提供了一种简单且精度较好的测量液晶空间光调制器相位调制特性的方法,即相位与电压(灰度)之间的关系。采用数字波面移相干涉仪,由干涉仪直接给出不同灰度对应的相位差,从而得到液晶空间光调制器的相位调制曲线。利用液晶空间光调制器实现了波前校正。由干涉仪作波前测试,对待校正的畸变波前进行泽尼克多项式描述,根据液晶空间光调制器的相位与灰度的关系,产生相应的灰度图,获得畸变波前的共轭波前,从而完成静态波前的校正,使相关参数如PV值、RMS值和Strehl比值得到了改善。     

Effect of liquid phase on the triple point pressure of argon

We report here a systematic data analysis of the vapour pressure of argon at different amounts of the liquid phase to understand the thermodynamic behaviour of this inert gas around triple point. At the triple point plateau, the applied heat pulse melts a certain phase of solid argon into liquid and increases vapour pressure. It is observed that this vapour pressure attains the thermodynamic equilibrium pressure after a certain time interval. The expoential decay of the vapour pressure as a function of time at different fractions of the liquid phase shows two different features. In one region, the relexation time constant (τ) is low and is not varying with the liquid phase, while in the other region the value ofτ increases with the amount of the liquid phase. Further, the peak pressure from the equilibrium pressure (ΔP _h), obtained from the fitting parameters, shows a dip at around 50% of the liquid phase. A qualitative physical interpretation has been given to explain these results.     

平行式向列液晶实现相移剪切电子散斑干涉术的研究

研究了向列型液晶的相位调制特性，采用平行式向列液昌作为相移器建立了相移剪切电子散斑干涉计量系统。该方法将相移技术引入到剪切电子散斑干涉术中，提高了检测精度，采用了相关条纹法求解相位，简化了计算；相移方法简单，可靠。用该系统进行应变场的测量实验，取得了满意的效果。     

Sintering aluminum in the presence of a liquid phase

A study has been made of the sintering of aluminum in the presence of a liquid phase formed on addition of copper, this liquid phase being formed as a result of contact melting between the different kinds of particles. The effects of the concentration of copper and the sintering temperature on the amount of liquid phase formed during sintering, the extent of contraction of the compacts, and their hardness and structure have been investigated.Translated from Izvestiya VUZ. Fizika, Vol. 11, No. 8, pp. 12–17, August, 1968.     

Studying the current-voltage characteristics of liquid-crystal langmuir films in the region of the ferroelectric phase transition

The electrophysical properties of hyperfine films of liquid crystals are studied. At temperatures near the phase transition, singularities in the curves of the temperature dependence of the sample capacitance are found. Hypotheses regarding the nature of the phase transition are proposed. A change in the electrical conductivity of the samples based on a TDOB AM BCC liquid crystal is detected upon the ferroelectric phase transition. Hypotheses regarding the causes of the influence of the phase transition on the electrophysical properties of the films are put forward.     

Convective instability of solidification with a phase transition zone

The morphological instability of solidification is analytically studied in the presence of an anisotropic and heterogeneous phase transition zone with allowance for a liquid flow and convective heat-andmass transfer in this two-phase zone. The mechanism of breaking the stability of solidification is considered; it consists in a convective heat and impurity transfer during a liquid flow along channels in the phase transition zone. The morphological instability is subjected to linear analysis with allowance for a liquid flow in the liquid phase of the system, impurity diffusion in the two-phase zone, and the dependence of the transfer coefficients on the phase composition. The perturbation evolution parameter is determined for an anisotropic and heterogeneous two-phase zone, and neutral stability curves of the process are obtained. It is shown that taking into account impurity diffusion and an increase in the heterogeneity of the phase transition zone broaden the instability region and that a decrease in the anisotropy narrows this region. A new criterion of convective morphological instability of solidification with a two-phase zone is found, and it substantially broadens the instability region when the liquid flow velocity increases.     

Structural study of supercooled liquid silicon

For many years, theoretical studies using model and ab initio potentials have predicated the existence of a liquid/liquid phase transition in silicon, based on a continuous change of the liquid A5 structure to A4. In contrast, we report here a quantitative analysis of data from high-energy X-ray diffraction measurements of containerlessly-processed supercooled liquid silicon that demonstrates that the fractions of regions with A5 and A4 order instead remain essentially constant with supercooling, but that the coherence length of the A5 order increases.     

Viscosity of two-dimensional suspensions

Over a range of conditions, lipid and surfactant monolayers exhibit coexistence of discrete solid domains in a continuous liquid. The surface shear viscosity, mu(s), of such monolayers collapses onto a single curve: mu(s)/mu(so) = [1-(A/A(c))](-1), in which mu(so) is the viscosity of the liquid phase, A is the area fraction of the solid phase measured by fluorescence microscopy, and A(c) is a critical solid phase fraction. This scaling relationship is directly analogous to that of three-dimensional dispersion of spheres in a solvent with long-range repulsive interactions, with area fraction replacing volume fraction.     

一种液晶相位调制特性的测量方法

提出一种基于衍射光栅的液晶相位调制特性测量方法.该方法利用液晶构建相位分别为0和φ的二值光栅,通过傅里叶光学的方法推导衍射光栅第0级衍射光斑光强和调制相位φ之间的关系,然后实测光强和液晶驱动电压之间的对应关系来得到相位和液晶驱动电压之间的对应关系,即液晶相位光栅的相位调制特性.最后利用测量相位调制特性结果构建液晶相控阵,用光束偏转误差验证调制特性测量结果,相位测量误差小于1×10~(-3)rad.     

反射式液晶光阀用于激光束空间整形可行性研究

 从理论和实验两方面对一种反射式液晶光阀（LCOS）的调制特性进行了研究。着重研究了在高功率激光系统中,反射式液晶光阀作为空间整形器件面临的一些应用问题,特别是它的各种调制特性、整形能力以及对于光束质量的影响。研究发现,与透射式液晶光阀相比,反射式液晶光阀有着明显的优势,效率达到42%,远远优于透射式液晶光阀10%的效率,从而能够实现系统的大幅度简化,是一种非常有潜力的空间光调制器件。     

The multipole polarizabilities and hyperpolarizabilities of the water molecule in liquid state: an ab initio study

A charge perturbation variant of the finite-field method has been used to calculate dipole and quadrupole moments, dipole polarizability, hyper- and principal components of high-order polarizabilities of the water molecule in gas and in liquid phase conditions. Calculations were performed for the ground-state water molecule at the MP2 and MP4 levels of theory. The gas phase values determined allow our methodology for extracting polarizabilities to be tested and a properly balanced, moderate-sized basis set to be selected; the results obtained are in very good agreement with experiment and the most accurate previous theoretical estimates. A local field approach is introduced to mimic the electrostatic environment experienced by a water molecule in the liquid. Within this approach, sets of fixed charges are used to generate the desired electric fields and field gradients. Three different liquid phase models and the corresponding sets of electrical properties are examined. The values obtained from these models and for gas-phase are compared. The magnitudes of the dipole and the quadrupole moments increase moving from gas to liquid phase, where the latter shows greater sensitivity to the choice of liquid model. For a liquid phase water molecule the first hyperpolarizability (β) and first higher polarizability (A) increase markedly, actually changing sign, the second hyperpolarizability (γ) also increases but much less dramatically, and components of the second high-order polarizability tensor (B) demonstrate a rearrangement of contributions. The values reported for the hyper- and high-order polarizability tensors are the first such theoretical estimates for liquid water.     

Novel approach to study liquid crystal phase transitions using Legendre moments

A novel approach is proposed to investigate the phase transitions of cholesteric liquid crystals using the Legendre moments. The textures of cholesteric liquid crystals (cholesteryl butyrate, cholesteryl n-valerate, cholesteryl decanoate, and cholesteryl myristate) are captured as a function of temperature using high-resolution camera attached to the arthroscopic mode of polarizing optical microscope with hot stage. A recurrence formula is used to compute the Legendre moments of the liquid crystal textures based on the Legendre polynomial using MATLAB software. The abrupt change in the values of Legendre moments as a function of temperature gives the phase transitions of liquid crystals. The investigated transition temperatures of cholesteric liquid crystals are compared with other techniques.     

First order phase change detection using planar waveguide Bragg grating refractometer

Solid-to-liquid and gas-to-liquid phase changes in water and ordered-to-isotropic phase changes in a nematic liquid crystal are detected with an optical sensor. A planar Bragg grating defined purely by refractive index modulation is covered with a water or liquid crystal overcladding and the temperature is controlled to trigger phase changes. Measurement of the Bragg wavelength allows changes of effective refractive index to be detected and discontinuities in behaviour caused by phase transitions can be clearly identified.