Experimental Studies of Molecular Vibrations in Liquid Crystals

Experimental Studies of Molecular Vibrations in Liquid Crystals 

Experimental studies of liquid crystals have been used for many years to probe the dynamics of these complex molecules [12]. These experiments are usually divided into high and low-frequency spectral regions [80]. This distinction is very important in the study of liquid crystalline phases because, in principle, it can discriminate between inter- and intramolecular dynamics. For many organic materials vibrations above about 150 cm are traditionally assigned to internal vibrations and those below this value to so-called lattice modes . However, the distinction is not absolute and coupling between inter- and intramolecular modes is possible. 

Normal vibrational spectroscopy generates information about the molecular frequency of vibration, the intensity of the spectral line and the shape of the associated band. The first of these is related to the strength of the molecular bonds and is the main concern of this section. The intensity of the band is related to the degree to which the polarisability is modulated during the vibration and the band shape provides information about molecular reorientational motion. 

One of the most common uses of vibrational spectroscopy is as a molecular fingerprinting tool whereby spectral features are assigned to the presence of particular fragments in molecules. These assignments are, however, only 

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