The effect of ethanol on the phase behaviour and micro-rheology of liquid crystals

The effect of ethanol on the phase behaviour and micro-rheology of lyotropic liquid crystals (LC) has been studied using a binary mixture of monoglyceride (MG) and aqueous ethanol. The phase behaviour study reveals the structural modulation of surfactant aggregates with increasing ethanol concentration, namely a bicontinuous cubic phase (Ia3d) transitions to the lamellar phase (L_α), at a fixed MG concentration. This behaviour is explained by considering the critical packing parameter (CPP) of the surfactant molecule. Because ethanol dehydrates the surfactant head group (a _s), the CPP values increase (decreasing a _s) and thus the formation of larger CPP aggregates is favoured (i.e., the Ia3d–L_α transition occurs). Cross-polarised images and X-ray scattering data support this conclusion. The structural modulation of the LC has further been investigated using a diffusing wave spectroscopy technique. The correlation and relaxation times, determined from the intersection point at short and long time scales of the mean square displacement (MSD), decrease with increasing concentrations of ethanol, indicating structural modulation of the LC. The micro-viscoelastic moduli (G′ and G′′) derived from the Laplace transformation of the MSD decrease with increasing ethanol concentrations, due to the LC modulation. The thermal effects on the micro-rheology of the LC have also been studied.     

Dual switchable six-ring bent-core liquid crystals with azo linkages exhibiting B1 and B2 mesophases

A new series of asymmetric bent-core compounds were synthesised using azo linkages with equal as well as unequal terminal alkyl chains and their photo and electrical switching properties investigated. The mesomorphic properties were characterised using polarised optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry. The lower homologues of the series of compounds show a B₁ phase whereas higher homologues exhibit a B₂ phase. The B₂ phase shows an anticlinic-antiferroelectric switching behaviour during electro-optic measurements. The photo-switching properties of the azobenzene containing bent-core molecules were investigated using ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. The trans to cis photo isomerisation was observed at 25 s whereas reverse processes took 14 h in chloroform.     

The influence of structural changes of symmetrical dimers containing two phenyl groups on liquid crystalline behaviour

Some symmetrical dimeric compounds containing biphenyl, biphenylcarboxylic acid or benzoiloxyphenyl moieties and polymethylene spacers were synthesised. The mesogenic properties of the synthesised compounds were investigated by optical microscopy, calorimetric and X-ray methods. It was shown that the location and direction of the ester bonds has a crucial significance in mesophase formation.     

Characterization of the B4 phase by dielectric and AFM measurements

Dielectric measurements on a sample consisting of banana-shaped molecules were carried out in a frequency range between 0.1 Hz and 10 MHz. The sample exhibited B₂ and B₄ phases. As usual, two ranges of relaxation were detected in the B₂ phase, the fast reorientation about the long axes of the molecules and a slow collective process. In the B₄ phase, only one dielectric active process at low frequencies was found; this does not differ from the low frequency relaxation of the B₂ modification. This relaxation is probably related to the dynamics of superstructures. Crystallization could be observed after keeping the sample for a longer time at higher temperature. Thus, it was possible to differentiate clearly between the crystalline and the B₄ phases. AFM investigations prove the existence of focal-conic domains and periodic superstructures in the B₄ phase; then do not appear in the crystalline state. For this reason the B₄ phase is regarded as different from a classical crystalline phase.     

Visco-elastic properties of reentrant nematic liquid crystalline mixtures

The visco-elastic properties for binary mixtures of 4-n -hexyloxy-4′-cyanobiphenyl (6OCB) and 4-n-octyloxy-4′-cyanobiphenyl (8OCB) are investigated in detail by a light scattering technique. The mixtures exhibit a reentrant nematic (RN) phase between the smectic A (SmA) and crystal phases in the range 22.0–29.5 wt % of 6OCB. The viscosity and the elastic constant increase with cooling in both the nematic and reentrant nematic phases. It is also found that the mixtures exhibit anomalously large values of viscosity and elastic constant near the phase transition, i.e. a pretransitional phenomenon can be observed. The activation energy for viscosity is smaller in the RN phase than in the ordinary nematic phase appearing at higher temperatures, while the normalized elastic constant (defined as the ratio of the elastic constant to the square of the dielectric anisotropy) is larger. Moreover, the visco-elastic behaviour depends on the specific time during which the sample has been kept in the SmA phase. These results confirm that the SmA phase has a strong influence on the formation of molecular aggregates, which plays an important role in the reentrant phenomenon of these systems.     

Conductive liquid crystalline compounds having a piperazine structure

New conductive thermotropic liquid crystalline materials having a piperazine ring in the central core: 1-[4-(9-decenyloxy)phenyl]-4-alkylpiperazines (6) were synthesized. The mesomorphic behaviours of these compounds and their conductivity in the liquid crystal phase were measured. The principal features of these compounds are to exhibit a smectic B phase around room temperature (for example 6: Cr 50 SmB 81 I, °C) and to exhibit a large dark current (6d: 430 μA cm^?2, applied voltage 20 V, at 70°C) in the smectic B phase.     

Novel monofunctionalized electron-deficient anthraquinone-based discotic liquid crystals

A series of electron-deficient 1-hydroxy-2,3,5,6,7-pentaalkoxyanthra-9,10-quinones has been synthesized. All nine members of the series were found to be liquid crystalline, forming columnar mesophases over a broad temperature range. Such supramolecular building blocks can be used for the preparation of novel discotic dimers, oligomers, polymers and metallomesogens.     

Lyotropic Liquid Crystal to Soft Mesocrystal Transformation in Hydrated Salt–Surfactant Mixtures

Hydrated CaCl₂, LiI, and MgCl₂ salts induce self‐assembly in nonionic surfactants (such as C₁₂H₂₅(OCH₂CH₂)₁₀OH) to form lyotropic liquid‐crystalline (LLC) mesophases that undergo a phase transition to a new type of soft mesocrystal (SMC) under ambient conditions. The SMC samples can be obtained by aging the LLC samples, which were prepared as thin films by spin‐coating, dip‐coating, or drop‐casting of a clear homogenized solution of water, salt, and surfactant over a substrate surface. The LLC mesophase exists up to a salt/surfactant mole ratio of 8, 10, and 4 (corresponding to 59, 68, and 40 wt % salt/surfactant) in the CaCl₂, LiI, and MgCl₂ mesophases, respectively. The SMC phase can transform back to a LLC mesophase at a higher relative humidity. The phase transformations have been monitored using powder X‐ray diffraction (PXRD), polarized optical microscopy (POM), and FTIR techniques. The LLC mesophases only diffract at small angles, but the SMCs diffract at both small and wide angles. The broad surfactant features in the FTIR spectra of the LLC mesophases become sharp and well resolved upon SMC formation. The unit cell of the mesophases expands upon SMC transformation, in which the expansion is largest in the MgCl₂ and smallest in the CaCl₂ systems. The POM images of the SMCs display birefringent textures with well‐defined edges, similar to crystals. However, the surface of the crystals is highly patterned, like buckling patterns, which indicates that these crystals are quite soft. This unusual phase behavior could be beneficial in designing new soft materials in the fields of phase‐changing materials and mesostructured materials, and it demonstrates the richness of the phase behavior in the salt–surfactant mesophases.     

On the “Tertiary Structure” of Poly‐Carbenes; Self‐Assembly of sp3‐Carbon‐Based Polymers into Liquid‐Crystalline Aggregates

The self‐assembly of poly(ethylidene acetate) (st‐PEA) into van der Waals‐stabilized liquid‐crystalline (LC) aggregates is reported. The LC behavior of these materials is unexpected, and unusual for flexible sp³‐carbon backbone polymers. Although the dense packing of polar ester functionalities along the carbon backbone of st‐PEA could perhaps be expected to lead directly to rigid‐rod behavior, molecular modeling reveals that individual st‐PEA chains are actually highly flexible and should not reveal rigid‐rod induced LC behavior. Nonetheless, st‐PEA clearly reveals LC behavior, both in solution and in the melt over a broad elevated temperature range. A combined set of experimental measurements, supported by MM/MD studies, suggests that the observed LC behavior is due to self‐aggregation of st‐PEA into higher‐order aggregates. According to MM/MD modeling st‐PEA single helices adopt a flexible helical structure with a preferred trans‐gauche syn‐syn‐anti‐anti orientation. Unexpectedly, similar modeling experiments suggest that three of these helices can self‐assemble into triple‐helical aggregates. Higher‐order assemblies were not observed in the MM/MD simulations, suggesting that the triple helix is the most stable aggregate configuration. DLS data confirmed the aggregation of st‐PEA into higher‐order structures, and suggest the formation of rod‐like particles. The dimensions derived from these light‐scattering experiments correspond with st‐PEA triple‐helix formation. Langmuir–Blodgett surface pressure–area isotherms also point to the formation of rod‐like st‐PEA aggregates with similar dimensions as st‐PEA triple helixes. Upon increasing the st‐PEA concentration, the viscosity of the polymer solution increases strongly, and at concentrations above 20 wt % st‐PEA forms an organogel. STM on this gel reveals the formation of helical aggregates on the graphite surface–solution interface with shapes and dimensions matching st‐PEA triple helices, in good agreement with the structures proposed by molecular modeling. X‐ray diffraction, WAXS, SAXS and solid state NMR spectroscopy studies suggest that st‐PEA triple helices are also present in the solid state, up to temperatures well above the melting point of st‐PEA. Formation of higher‐order aggregates explains the observed LC behavior of st‐PEA, emphasizing the importance of the “tertiary structure” of synthetic polymers on their material properties.     

聚合物单晶生长的三维相场模拟研究

利用元胞自动机方法与相场模型的结合建立新型三维模拟相场模型.同时,为模拟真实的、三维的高分子结晶的过程,采用元胞自动机方法离散方程,且元胞几何形状的选取符合真实聚合物晶格扩散方式的物理规律,以及新建立的相场模型套用间规聚丙烯的实验参数.利用该模型模拟了多种三维立方体或者薄层的晶体形貌及其相互之间的演化过程,包括正方形、长方形、菱形、六边形、多层单晶等.通过模拟结果与真实形貌作对比来证明所建立的相场模型真实可靠性.