Frequency-dependent deformation of liquid crystal droplets in an external electric field |
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Authors: | G K Auernhammer J Zhao B Ullrich and D Vollmer |
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Institution: | (1) Dipartimento di Chimica, Università della Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy;(2) Dipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche, Università della Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy; |
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Abstract: | Nematic droplets suspended in the isotropic phase of the same substance were subjected to alternating electrical fields of
varying frequency. To keep the system at a constant nematic/isotropic volume ratio with constant droplet size, we carefully
kept the temperature in the isotropic/nematic coexistence region, which was broadened by adding small amounts of a non-mesogenic
liquid. Whereas the nematic droplets remained spherical at low (in the order of 10 Hz) and high frequencies (in the order
of 1 kHz), at intermediate frequencies we observed a marked flattening of the droplets in the plane perpendicular to the applied
field. Droplet deformation occurred both in liquid crystals (LCs) with positive and negative dielectric anisotropy. The experimental
data can be quantitatively modelled with a combination of the leaky dielectric model and screening of the applied electric
field due to finite conductivity. |
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Keywords: | |
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