Optical nematics

Time required by an electro-optical nematic cell for a light-intensity change from 10% to 90 % of the maximum intensity on going from the off-state to the on-state. 

Schadt M and Flelfrich W 1971 Voltage-dependent optical activity of a twisted nematic liquid crystal Appl. Phys. Lett. 18 127-8... 

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). 

Liquid Crystalline Structures. In certain ceUular organeUes, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) occurs in a concentrated form. Striking similarities between the optical properties derived from the underlying supramolecular organization of the concentrated DNA phases and those observed in chiral nematic textures have been described (36). Concentrated aqueous solutions of nucleic acids exhibit a chiral nematic texture in vitro (29,37). 

New optical (static as well as dynamic) techiuques for the stndy of long-range order in stractured continna are begiiming to appear and can be used to understand the constitutive properties and relations in complex (polymeric, nematic, and other stmctured) fluids. 

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. 

The classical scheme for dichroism measurements implies measuring absorbances (optical densities) for light electric vector parallel and perpendicular to the orientation of director of a planarly oriented nematic or smectic sample. This approach requires high quality polarizers and planarly oriented samples. The alternative technique [50, 53] utilizes a comparison of the absorbance in the isotropic phase (Dj) with that of a homeotropically oriented smectic phase (Dh). In this case, the apparent order parameter for each vibrational oscillator of interest S (related to a certain molecular fragment) may be calculated as S = l-(Dh/Di) (l/f), where / is the thermal correction factor. The angles of orientation of vibrational oscillators (0) with respect to the normal to the smectic layers may be determined according to the equation... 

Liquid crystals (LCs) are organic liquids with long-range ordered structures. They have anisotropic optical and physical behaviors and are similar to crystal in electric field. They can be characterized by the long-range order of their molecular orientation. According to the shape and molecular direction, LCs can be sorted as four types nematic LC, smectic LC, cholesteric LC, and discotic LC, and their ideal models are shown in Fig. 23 [52,55]. 

Lyotropic liquid crystalline nanoparticles have also been described. Concentrated solutions of gold nanorods in water in the presence of a surfactant (cetyltrimethyl-ammonium bromide) display a nematic mesophase stable up to 200 °C [74[. The N mesophase was identified by optical microscopy by their typical nematic droplets texture. 

Fig. 8 Optical micrograph of a a nematic phase, b a SmA phase (reproduced with kind permission of the American Chemical Society) and c a SmC phase (reproduced with kind permission of the copyright owner, D.W. Bruce)... 

The liquid crystal properties of the complexes were characterised using polarised optical microscopy and showed a nematic phase for n = 4 and 6 and a SmA phase for n = 6, 8, 10 and 12. The mesophases were monotropic for n = 4 and 6 and enantiotropic for the others the progression from a nematic phase for shorter chain lengths to SmA at longer chain lengths is quite typical for simple, polar mesogens. 

Drapp B., Pauluth D., Krause J., Gauglitz G., The application of the phase transition in nematic liquid crystals for the optical detection of volatile organic compounds, Fresenius J Anal Chem, 1999, 364, 121-127. 

Synthesis of the first mesoionic nematic and smectic A liquid crystals derived from sydnones has been described and their self-organization into liquid crystal phases has been studied by optical, calorimetric, and powder X-ray diffraction methods <2005CC1552>. 

To produce novel LC phase behavior and properties, a variety of polymer/LC composites have been developed. These include systems which employ liquid crystal polymers (5), phase separation of LC droplets in polymer dispersed liquid crystals (PDLCs) (4), incorporating both nematic (5,6) and ferroelectric liquid crystals (6-10). Polymer/LC gels have also been studied which are formed by the polymerization of small amounts of monomer solutes in a liquid crystalline solvent (11). The polymer/LC gel systems are of particular interest, rendering bistable chiral nematic devices (12) and polymer stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystals (PSFLCs) (1,13), which combine fast electro-optic response (14) with the increased mechanical stabilization imparted by the polymer (75). 

Figure 8.11 Illustration of Mauguin twisted nematic cell, reported in 1911. Substrates are thin mica plates, which are uniaxial with their optic axis parallel to plane of plates. Apparently, uniaxial crystal stmcture of mica produces strong azimuthal anchoring of nematic LCs of Lehmann, such that director is parallel (or perpendicular) to optic axis of mica sheets at both surfaces. Mauguin showed that method of Poincard could be used to explain optics of system if it was assumed that LC sample created layer of material with uniformly rotating optic axis in twisted cells.

Many other interesting examples of spontaneous reflection symmetry breaking in macroscopic domains, driven by boundary conditions, have been described in LC systems. For example, it is well known that in polymer disperse LCs, where the LC sample is confined in small spherical droplets, chiral director structures are often observed, driven by minimization of surface and bulk elastic free energies.24 We have reported chiral domain structures, and indeed chiral electro-optic behavior, in cylindrical nematic domains surrounded by isotropic liquid (the molecules were achiral).25... 

Polarized optical photographs of the blends are shown in Figure 20.3. The spherical LCP domains are irregularly dispersed in the PEN and PET phases below 20 mol % PHB content (Figure 20.3(a)). The results observed from 30 mol % PHB reveal a continuous co-existence of the PHB phase and the PEN/PET matrix in the blended polymers (Figure 20.3(b)). However, the blend with 40 mol % PHB shows a nematic LC phase. This result is similar to that found for the copolyesters synthesized by Chen and Zachmann [26], who found... 

Navard and Zachariades (125) examined the optical properties of shear deformed trifluoroacetox3q)ropyl cellulose and observed band phenomena identical to that for thermotropic nematic copolyesters. Steinmeier and Zugenmaier (107) demonstrated that the phenylacetate... 

The mesophases of LC diols la-lg were also observed directly in polarized optical micrographs taken immediately after melting the sample. Textures were identified only by comparison with published micrographs (2 ), and are therefore tentative. A nematic texture is observed for If (Fig. 2), while more highly ordered smectic textures are observed for Ib-le and Ig (Fig. 3). 

Note 1 The nematic liquid crystal must have a negative dielectric anisotropy (Af < 0), and a positive anisotropy (Aa > 0). The optical texture corresponding to the flow pattern consists of a set of regularly spaced, black and white stripes perpendicular to the initial direction of the director. These stripes are caused by the periodicity of the change in the refractive index for the extraordinary ray due to variations in the director orientation. 

Time required for the light intensity viewed through crossed polarizers to increase to 90% of the final value from the off-state to the on-state of an electro-optical twisted-nematic cell. 

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