Mixtures nematics

The method has been extended to mixtures of hard spheres, to hard convex molecules and to hard spherocylinders that model a nematic liquid crystal. For mixtures m. subscript) of hard convex molecules of the same shape but different sizes. Gibbons [38] has shown that the pressure is given by... 

As witli tlie nematic phase, a chiral version of tlie smectic C phase has been observed and is denoted SniC. In tliis phase, tlie director rotates around tlie cone generated by tlie tilt angle [9,32]. This phase is helielectric, i.e. tlie spontaneous polarization induced by dipolar ordering (transverse to tlie molecular long axis) rotates around a helix. However, if tlie helix is unwound by external forces such as surface interactions, or electric fields or by compensating tlie pitch in a mixture, so tliat it becomes infinite, tlie phase becomes ferroelectric. This is tlie basis of ferroelectric liquid crystal displays (section C2.2.4.4). If tliere is an alternation in polarization direction between layers tlie phase can be ferrielectric or antiferroelectric. A smectic A phase foniied by chiral molecules is sometimes denoted SiiiA, altliough, due to the untilted symmetry of tlie phase, it is not itself chiral. This notation is strictly incorrect because tlie asterisk should be used to indicate the chirality of tlie phase and not tliat of tlie constituent molecules. 

Chiral nematic Hquid crystals are sometimes referred to as spontaneously twisted nematics, and hence a special case of the nematic phase. The essential requirement for the chiral nematic stmcture is a chiral center that acts to bias the director of the Hquid crystal with a spontaneous cumulative twist. An ordinary nematic Hquid crystal can be converted into a chiral nematic by adding an optically active compound (4). In many cases the inverse of the pitch is directiy proportional to the molar concentration of the optically active compound. Racemic mixtures (1 1 mixtures of both isomers) of optically active mesogens form nematic rather than chiral nematic phases. Because of their twist encumbrance, chiral nematic Hquid crystals generally are more viscous than nematics (6). 

The polyamides are soluble in high strength sulfuric acid or in mixtures of hexamethylphosphoramide, /V, /V- dim ethyl acetam i de and LiCl. In the latter, compHcated relationships exist between solvent composition and the temperature at which the Hquid crystal phase forms. The polyamide solutions show an abmpt decrease in viscosity which is characteristic of mesophase formation when a critical volume fraction of polymer ( ) is exceeded. The viscosity may decrease, however, in the Hquid crystal phase if the molecular ordering allows the rod-shaped entities to gHde past one another more easily despite the higher concentration. The Hquid crystal phase is optically anisotropic and the texture is nematic. The nematic texture can be transformed to a chiral nematic texture by adding chiral species as a dopant or incorporating a chiral unit in the main chain as a copolymer (30). 

Thermotropic polycarbonates have been prepared from mixtures of 4,4 -dihydroxybiphenyl and various diphenols (10). Nematic melts were found for copolycarbonates prepared from methyfliydroquiaone, chlorohydroquiaone, 4,4 -dihydroxydiphenyl ether, and 4,4 -dihydroxybenzophenone. Slightly crystalline polycarbonates have been prepared from mixtures of hydroquinone and BPA (T = 154°C, =313°C, AH = 11.0 J/g (2.63 cal/g)), and... 

Short-time Brownian motion was simulated and compared with experiments [108]. The structural evolution and dynamics [109] and the translational and bond-orientational order [110] were simulated with Brownian dynamics (BD) for dense binary colloidal mixtures. The short-time dynamics was investigated through the velocity autocorrelation function [111] and an algebraic decay of velocity fluctuation in a confined liquid was found [112]. Dissipative particle dynamics [113] is an attempt to bridge the gap between atomistic and mesoscopic simulation. Colloidal adsorption was simulated with BD [114]. The hydrodynamic forces, usually friction forces, are found to be able to enhance the self-diffusion of colloidal particles [115]. A novel MC approach to the dynamics of fluids was proposed in Ref. 116. Spinodal decomposition [117] in binary fluids was simulated. BD simulations for hard spherocylinders in the isotropic [118] and in the nematic phase [119] were done. A two-site Yukawa system [120] was studied with... 

Many technological applications of liquid crystals, as in electro-optic display devices, are based on multicomponent mixtures. Such systems offer a route to the desired material properties which cannot be achieved simultaneously for single component systems. Mixtures also tend to exhibit a richer phase behaviour than pure systems with features such as re-entrant nematic phases [3] and nematic-nematic transitions possible. In this section, we describe simulations which have been used to study mixtures of thermotropic calamitic mesogens. 

Fig. 6. Phase diagram for the binary mixture of terminally polar mesogens showii the reentrant nematic (N), monolayer (Ai), partially bilayer (Ad) and two-dimensional (C) phases (Lobko et al. [47])...

Mixtures of a nematic liquid crystal (LC or LC ) with small quantities of gold nanoparticles coated with alkylthiolates (<5 wt%) including an alkylthiolate functionalized with a chiral group have been studied (Figure 8.29) [72]. All mixtures show nematic mesophases with transition temperatures and phase stability very similar to those oftheliquid crystal precursors LC or LC. The introduction ofachiral center into the mixtures (mixtures of Au ) produce chiral nematic mesophases. A similar result is obtained in mixtures of Au and LC doped with the chiral dopant (s)-Naproxen. 

Nieh MP, Raghunathan VA, Glinka CJ, Harroun TA, Pabst G, Katsaras J (2004) Magnetically alignable phase of phospholipid bicelle mixtures is a chiral nematic made up of wormlike micelles. Langmuir 20 7893-7897... 

A series of model nematic liquid crystals (among them oxadiazole derivatives) with transverse dipole moments were used to study the flexoelectric effect in guest-host mixtures with a commercial liquid crystal host <2005CM6354>. 

Fig. 13. Tilted 2D spectrum of natural abundance 2H Q-COSY experiment of ( )-l-pentyn-ol dissolved in PBLG/chloroform chiral nematic liquid crystal. The spectrum was symmetrized prior to the tilting procedure. Note that all isotopomers of the mixture are clearly visualized. (Reproduced by permission of American Chemical Society.)...

Quasi-nematic or compensated cholesteric phases were formed by CTC dissolved in mixtures of methylpropyl ketone (MPK) and DEME. CTC/MPK has a right-handed twist but CTC/DEME a left-handed one (109). Siekmeyer et al. (IIQ) studied the phase behavior of the ternary lyotropic system CTC/3-chlorophenylurethane/triethyleneglycol monoethyl ether. 

One alternative approach is to use photoisomerisable chiral compounds where the E and Z isomers have different helical twisting powers, e.g. menthone derivatives. By incorporating co-polymers, prepared from menthone containing monomers and cyano esters (5.5), as dopants into nematic LC mixtures materials, e.g. a mixture of cyanobiphenyls and cyanoterphenyls (E7 available from Merck), colour change can be effected by irradiating with UV light (365 nm). The colour obtained is dependent... 

To separate the components of this reaction mixture, the crude product is dissolved in a minimum quantity of petroleum ether. The solution is then passed through a 2 x 20 cm chromatography column packed with aluminum oxide. The nitro and azo compounds are eluted from the column first with sufficient petroleum ether. The azoxy compound is eluted with petroleum ether containing 1 % of methanol. The eluting solvent is evaporated and the residual product is recrystallized from ethanol, m.p. 117°-118°C, nematic-liquid transition point 134°C. 

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