Spectroscopic and thermodynamic studies of binary mixtures composed of nematogenic and non-nematogenic components

The effect of a non-nematic guest, tetracyanoethylene (TCNE), on the liquid-crystaline state of the host, 4-n-pentyl-4'-cyanobiphenyl (5CB), has been investigated. It was shown by absorption spectroscopy that TCNE forms a 1 : 1 charge transfer complex with 5CB in the nematic phase, similar to that in the isotropic solution. The effect of TCNE on the transition temperature was investigated by comparison with a normal guest, 2,3-dimethylbutane (DMB), which has a molecular volume comparable with that of TCNE but has no specific interaction with the host. TCNE was found to lower the transition temperature much more strikingly than DMB, suggesting the peculiar effect of complex formation. The theoretical background is given based on molecular field theory.