Isotropic to ferroelectric and antiferroelectric liquid crystals phase transitions

This review is an attempt towards a unified picture of the direct transitions from the isotropic liquid to ferroelectric and antiferroelectric liquid crystalline phases formed by rod-like and bent-core molecules. The Landau–Ginzburg theories of the phase transitions between the isotropic liquid to ferroelectric and antiferroelectric liquid crystalline phases in compounds composed of chiral rod-like molecules and achiral bent-core molecules are presented. This includes a discussion of the nature of the order parameters and the nature of the various types of phase transitions. The various predictions are compared with the available experimental results.     

Phase behaviors of ionic liquids attributed to the dual ionic and organic nature

Ionic liquids (ILs), also known as room-temperature molten salts, are solely composed of ions with melting points usually below 100 °C. Because of their low volatility and vast amounts of species, ILs can serve as ‘green solvents' and ‘designer solvents' to meet the requirements of various applications by fine-tuning their molecular structures. A good understanding of the phase behaviors of ILs is certainly fundamentally important in terms of their wide applications. This review intends to summarize the major conclusions so far drawn on phase behaviors of ILs by computational, theoretical, and experimental studies, illustrating the intrinsic relationship between their dual ionic and organic nature and the crystalline phases, nanoscale segregation liquid phase, IL crystal phases, as well as phase behaviors of their mixture with small organic molecules.     

Violation of rotational invariance and mesomorphic phase transitions characterized by an order parameter

By group-theoretical arguments we predict all the possible anisotropic liquid phases which can appear as a result of the violation of the rotational invariance of the isotropic liquid. We discuss the mathematical nature of the order parameters which are found to be irreducible tensors, the order of the corresponding phase transitions and the stability of the phases against small spatial fluctuations of the order parameter.     

The phases of two-dimensional matter,their transitions,and solid-state stability: A perspective via computer simulation of simple atomic systems

An extensive computer simulation investigation of the structure, thermodynamics and phase stability of the two-dimensional Lennard-Jones system is presented, with special emphasis on the low-pressure melting regime of the phase diagram. This investigation includes isobaric-isothermal Monte Carlo simulations of the various phases of the two-dimensional Lennard-Jones system and of the melting and vaporization processes in configuration space, the isodensity-isothermal Monte Carlo simulations of two-phase coexistence between crystal and liquid and between liquid and vapor, the determination of the phase diagram, the establishment of the thermodynamic melting temperature, and the determination of the physical significance of the Kosterlitz-Thouless-Feynman dislocation model for melting in relation to the stability of the crystalline phase. I conclude that th phase diagram of the Lennard-Jones system in two dimensions is qualitatively similar to that in three dimensions. Finally, I present a new simulation method for doing molecular dynamics at constant pressure and/or constant temperature, and employ this method to study the temporal-spatial evolution of two-dimensional melting and vaporization.     

Lamellar phase of stacked two-dimensional rafts of actin filaments

We examined liquid crystalline phases of the cytoskeletal polyelectrolyte filamentous (F-)actin in the presence of multivalent counterions. As a function of increasing ion concentration, the F-actin rods in either an isotropic or a nematic phase will transform into a new and unexpected lamellar phase of cross-linked rafts (L(XR) phase), before condensing into a bundled phase of parallel, close-packed rods. This behavior is generic for alkali earth divalent ions Mg2+, Ca2+, Sr2+, and Ba2+, and the structural transitions are achieved without any architecture-specific actin-binding linker proteins.     

Etude par Spectrométrie Infrarouge et Raman des Phases Cristallines Basses Temperatures de (NH4)3H(SO4)2

The Raman and infrared spectra of (NH₄)₃H(SO₄)₂ crystal were investigated in the range 20–300 K. An assignment of bands due to internal and external vibrations is given. The crystalline phases designated II, III, V and VII were identified and characterized spectroscopically. Hydrogen bonding, the nature and degree of structural (dis)order and the mechanisms of the phase transitions are discussed. The NH₄⁺ ions show an important orientational disorder and become fully ordered in phase VII only. They are involved in all transitions and seem the main cause of the ferroelectricity at low temperature.     

Vapor-crystal phase transition in synthesis of paracetamol films by vacuum evaporation and condensation

We report on the structural and technological investigations of the vapor-crystal phase transition during synthesis of paracetamol films of the monoclinic system by vacuum evaporation and condensation in the temperature range 220–320 K. The complex nature of the transformation accompanied by the formation of a gel-like phase is revealed. The results are interpreted using a model according to which the vapor-crystal phase transition is not a simple first-order phase transition, but is a nonlinear superposition of two phase transitions: a first-order transition with a change in density and a second-order phase transition with a change in ordering. Micrographs of the surface of the films are obtained at different phases of formation.     

Synthesis,characterization and phase transition studies in 4-hexyloxy benzylidene 4’-alkoxyanilines

Synthesis and the characterization through polarizing optical microscope (POM) textures in number of 4-hexyloxy benzylidene 4’-alkoxyanilines, 6O.Om with m = 4, 6 to 10 liquid crystalline materials are carried out. Furthermore, the density and thermal expansion coefficient results reveal that the phase transitions present, viz., isotropic–nematic, nematic–SmC and SmC–SmI show first-order nature as expected. The transition temperatures obtained thorough the differential scanning calorimetry is found to be in agreement with the literature data. The first two compounds exhibit only the nematic phase while the next four compounds show enantiotropic SmC phase as per the literature data. The compound with m = 10 exhibits monotropic SmI phase. However, we, the authors, are able to observe this phase in addition to SmC and nematic through POM only as per the literature. The parameters calculated across the phase transitions and in the phases are in agreement with the body of the data available.     

Structure of unsupported antimony nanoclusters

In this study we present results of electron diffraction experiments on unsupported antimony nanoclusters with mean sizes in the range of 20-40 nm. An inert-gas aggregation source was used to produce the cluster beam. Electron diffraction patterns reveal phase transitions between crystalline and amorphous phases as well as particles composed of Sb₄ tetramers. The diffraction results are correlated with electron microscope investigations of the morphology of films formed by deposition of the clusters.     

Study on optical characterization of TGB and reentrant smectic-A phases in binary mixture of two liquid crystals

In this work, our investigation is to study the optical and thermal properties of the binary mixture of cholesteric and nematic compounds, namely, cholesteryl nonanoate and p-methoxybenzylidene-p-ethylaniline, which exhibits a very interesting liquid crystalline twisted grain boundary (TGB) phase and reentrant smectic-A phase. The chiral liquid crystalline TGB phases and reentrant smectic-A phases have been observed at different concentrations and at different temperatures. The existence of TGB and reentrant smectic-A phases is confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry and optical microscopic studies. The variation of optical anisotropy has been discussed. The helical pitch of the cholesteric phase has also been discussed.     

Nematic-crystal transitions in liquid crystals

A lattice theory of phase transitions in a system of rod-like molecules is presented with application to liquid crystals. The first order transitions between nematic and crystal phases as well as between isotropic and nematic phases are obtained.     

X-ray diffraction study of liquid Cs up to 9.8 GPa

We describe an x-ray diffraction study of liquid Cs at high pressure and temperature conducted in order to characterize the structural changes associated with the complex melting curve and phase transitions observed in the solid phases. At 3.9 GPa we observe a discontinuity in the density of the liquid accompanied by a decrease in the coordination number from about 12 to 8, which marks a change to a nonsimple liquid. The specific volume of liquid Cs, combined with structural analysis of the diffraction data, strongly suggest the existence of dsp(3) electronic hybridization above 3.9 GPa, similar to that reported on compression in the crystalline phase.     

AsS melt under pressure: one substance, three liquids

An in situ high-temperature--high-pressure study of liquid chalcogenide AsS by x-ray diffraction, resistivity measurements, and quenching from melt is presented. The obtained data provide direct evidence for the existence in the melt under compression of two transformations: one is from a moderate-viscosity molecular liquid to a high-viscosity nonmetallic polymerized liquid at P approximately 1.6-2.2 GPa; the other is from the latter to a low-viscosity metallic liquid at P approximately 4.6-4.8 GPa. Upon rapid cooling, molecular and metallic liquids crystallize to normal and high-pressure phases, respectively, while a polymerized liquid is easily quenched to a new AsS glass. General aspects of multiple phase transitions in liquid AsS, including relations to the phase diagram of the respective crystalline, are discussed.     

有限尺寸胶体体系的二维结晶

从工业上的大尺寸晶体生长到实验室中受限小体系的结晶,结晶是普遍存在的物理现象,也一直是物理学中的重要研究课题.与大尺度结晶相变的研究相比,对于有限小尺度体系结晶过程的研究相对较少.本文通过设计具有吸引相互作用的胶体体系,在实验上研究了有限小尺寸胶体体系的二维结晶相变.通过计算和分析径向分布函数、泰森多边形以及取向序参量,发现有限小尺寸体系的结晶过程是从中央高密度区域开始,随着结晶的进行,周围液相减小而晶相增加,最后完全转变为晶态的过程.体系结晶速率呈现两个阶段:在结晶初期中央区域是高密度的亚稳态液体,会降低结晶自由能能垒,使得体系快速结晶;随后晶相长大,亚稳态液体消失,体系结晶速率变慢.此外,通过统计有序度参量的分布发现:在结晶过程中,序参量出现双峰分布,分别对应液相和晶相,与大尺度胶体体系的二维结晶行为一致,说明序参量分布的变化规律是二维结晶相变的重要特征.     

Laws of formation of polar smectic phases under a frustrated interaction

The Landau theory of phase transitions with a two-component order parameter is used to systematically calculate the structures and phase diagrams of polar liquid crystals. Commensurate and incommensurate structures with a layer-type period form as a result of a frustration interaction. Phase diagrams are calculated when various short- and long-range interlayer interactions are sequentially introduced. As a result, the nature of formation of various structures is revealed. The calculated phase diagrams explain the formation of various phases, their temperature sequence (including so-called “unusual” sequence of phases), and the nature of forces responsible for the formation of a certain structure and the shape of a phase diagram.     

Photoacoustic and Fluorescence Spectroscopy of Metallomesogens Containing Lanthanide Ions

制备了稀土液晶配合物Ln(bta)3L2 (Ln3+：La3+,Eu3+,Ho3+;L：N-octadecyl-2-hydroxy-4-tetradec-yloxybenzaldimine;bta：benzoyltrifluoroacetonate), 所得配合物在室温下呈近晶相(SmA phase)．首次利用光声光谱对金属液晶配合物的光谱性质、弛豫过程和相变进行研究．在配体吸收处,光声强度依Eu(bta)3L2相似文献   

Magnetic phase transitions in one-dimensional strongly attractive three-component ultracold fermions

We investigate the nature of trions, pairing, and quantum phase transitions in one-dimensional strongly attractive three-component ultracold fermions in external fields. Exact results for the ground-state energy, critical fields, magnetization and phase diagrams are obtained analytically from the Bethe ansatz solutions. Driven by Zeeman splitting, the system shows exotic phases of trions, bound pairs, a normal Fermi liquid, and four mixtures of these states. Particularly, a smooth phase transition from a trionic phase into a pairing phase occurs as the highest hyperfine level separates from the two lower energy levels. In contrast, there is a smooth phase transition from the trionic phase into a normal Fermi liquid as the lowest level separates from the two higher levels.     

Optical and Magnetic Properties of Fe-Doped GaN Diluted Magnetic Semiconductors Prepared by MOCVD Method

Fe-doped GaN thin films are grown on c-sapphires by metal organic chemical vapour deposition method （MOCVD） Crystalline quality and phase purity are characterized by x-ray diffraction and Raman scattering measurements. There are no detectable second phases formed during growth and no significant degradation in crystalline quality as Fe ions are doped. Fe-related optical transitions are observed in photoluminescence spectra. Magnetic measurements reveal that the films show room-temperature ferromagnetic behaviour. The ferromagnetism may originate from carrier-mediated Fe-doped GaN diluted magnetic semiconductors or nanoscale iron clusters and FeN compounds which we have not detected.