Liquid crystals of rod-like molecules

The vast majority of thermotropic liquid crystals are composed of rod-like molecules. Following the nomenclature proposed originally by Friedel, they are classified broadly into three types nematic, cholesteric and 

The nematic liquid crystal has a high degree of long-range orientational order of the molecules, but no long-range translational order (fig. 1.1.1). Thus it differs from the isotropic liquid in that the molecules are 

A biaxial modification of the nematic has been discovered recently (see 

The cholesteric mesophase is also a nematic type of liquid crystal except 

These phases exist over a small temperature range ( 1 °C) between the liquid crystal phase and the isotropic liquid. Their structures will be discussed in 4.8. 

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TABLE 1.1. Structural classification [18] of thermotropic liquid crystals of rod-like molecules. 

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