Smectic-A and smectic-C phases and phase transitions in 8̅ S5 liquid-crystal-aerosil gels
Author(s)
Garland, Carl W.; Freelon, Byron; Ramazanoglu, M.; Chung, P. J.; Page, R. N.; Lo, Yuan-Tse; Valdivia, P.; Birgeneau, R. J.; ... Show more Show less![Thumbnail](/bitstream/handle/1721.1/68654/Freelon-2011-Smectic-A%20and%20smectic-C%20phases%20and.pdf.jpg?sequence=8&isAllowed=y)
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High-resolution x-ray scattering studies of the nonpolar thermotropic liquid crystal 4-n-pentylphenylthiol-4′-n-octyloxybenzoate (8̅ S5) in aerosil gel nanonetworks reveal that the aerosil-induced disorder significantly alters both the nematic to smectic-A and smectic-A to smectic-C phase transitions. The limiting 8̅ S5 smectic-A correlation length follows a power-law dependence on the aerosil density in quantitative agreement with the limiting lengths measured previously in other smectic-A liquid crystal gels. The smectic-A to smectic-C liquid crystalline phase transition is altered fundamentally by the presence of the aerosil gel. The onset of the smectic-C phase remains relatively sharp but there is an extended coexistence region where smectic-A and smectic-C domains can exist.
Date issued
2011-09Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemistry; Massachusetts Institute of Technology. School of ScienceJournal
Physical Review E
Publisher
American Physical Society (APS)
Citation
Freelon, B. et al. “Smectic-A and smectic-C phases and phase transitions in 8[over ¯]S5 liquid-crystal-aerosil gels.” Physical Review E 84.3 (2011): n. pag. Web. 25 Jan. 2012. © 2011 American Physical Society
Version: Final published version
ISSN
1539-3755
1550-2376