Non-linear optical measurement of the twist elastic constant in thermotropic and DNA lyotropic chiral nematics (original) (raw)
Related papers
Physical Review E, 2013
Here we report the chemical induction of the twist-bend nematic phase in a nematic mixture of ether-linked liquid crystal dimers by the addition of a dimer with methylene links; all dimers have an odd number of groups in the spacer connecting the two mesogenic groups. The twist-bend phase has been identified from its optical texture and x-ray scattering pattern as well as NMR spectroscopy, which demonstrates the phase chirality. Theory predicts that the key macroscopic property required for the stability of this chiral phase formed from achiral molecules is for the bend elastic constant to tend to be negative; in addition the twist elastic constant should be smaller than half the splay elastic constant. To test these important aspects of the prediction we have measured the bend and splay elastic constants in the nematic phase preceding the twist-bend nematic using the classic Frederiks methodology and all three elastic constants employing the dynamic light scattering approach. Our results show that, unlike the splay, the bend elastic constant is small and decreases significantly as the transition to the induced twist-bend nematic phase is approached, but then exhibits unexpected behavior prior to the phase transition.
A simple method to measure the twist elastic constant of a nematic liquid crystal
We demonstrate a simple method for measuring the twist elastic constant (K 22) of a nematic liquid crystal (LC). By adding some chiral dopant to an LC host, the LC directors rotate 180° in a homogeneous cell, which is known as 180° super-twisted nematic (STN) cell. By preparing two such STN cells with different chiral concentrations and measuring their Fréedericksz threshold voltages, we can obtain the K 22 and helical twisting power simultaneously. In the whole process, there is no need to measure the pitch length. Our obtained K 22 values agree well with those reported by using other methods.
Elastic constants and orientational viscosities of a bent-core nematic liquid crystal
Physical Review E, 2011
Using a combination of dynamic light scattering and Freedericksz transitions induced in applied magnetic and electric fields, we have determined the absolute magnitudes of the Frank elastic constants and effective orientational viscosities of the bent-core nematic liquid crystal, 4-chloro-1,3-phenylene bis 4-[4'-(9-decenyloxy)benzoyloxy] benzoate. At a fixed temperature 2 • C below the isotropic-nematic transition, we find K 11 = 3.1 × 10 −12 N, K 22 = 0.31 × 10 −12 N, K 33 = 0.88 × 10 −12 N, η splay = 1.1 Pa s, η twist = 0.37 Pa s, and η bend = 1.2 Pa s. The unusual anisotropies of these parameters are discussed in terms of short-range, smectic-C-like correlations among molecules in the nematic phase.
Elasticity and Viscosity of a Lyotropic Chromonic Nematic Studied with Dynamic Light Scattering
2008
Using dynamic light scattering, we measure for the first time the temperature-dependent elastic moduli and associated orientational viscosity coefficients of the nematic phase in a self-assembled lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal. The bend K3 and splay K1 moduli are an order of magnitude higher than the twist K2 constant. The ratio K3/K1 shows an anomalous increase with temperature; we attribute this to the shortening of the aggregates as temperature increases. The viscosity coefficients also show a significant anisotropy, as well as a strong temperature dependence; in particular, the bend viscosity is three orders of magnitude smaller than the splay and twist viscosities.
Understanding the distinctive elastic constants in an oxadiazole bent-core nematic liquid crystal
Physical Review E, 2012
The splay and bend elastic constants of the bent-core oxadiazole material [C5-Ph-ODBP-Ph-OC12] have been investigated as a function of temperature across the nematic phase. The bend constant K 33 is found to take values of ∼3.0 pN and to be almost temperature independent, whereas, the splay constant K 11 increases monotonically from ∼3.5 pN close to the isotropic phase transition to values of ∼9 pN deep in the nematic phase. No pretransitional divergence is observed in either K 11 or K 33 at temperatures approaching the underlying phase. This behavior of the elastic constants is distinct from that observed in rodlike liquid crystal systems but appears to share characteristics with the few other bent-core nematic systems studied to date. We discuss the interdependence of the elastic constants, the birefringence, and the order parameter to allow a comparison of the observed behavior with theory. We show that calculations of the elastic constants via molecular-field theory and atomistic modeling are in excellent qualitative as well as good quantitative (within 2 pN) agreement with the measurements across the temperature range, offering a deeper understanding of the elasticity in bent-core nematic materials than has been, hitherto, available.
The European Physical Journal E, 2001
The Frank elasticity constants which describe splay (K1), twist (K2), and bend (K3) distortion modes are investigated for 4-n-pentyl-4 -cyanobiphenyl (5CB) in the nematic liquid crystal. The calculations rest on statistical-mechanical approaches where the absolute values of Ki (i = 1, 2, 3) are dependent on the direct correlation function (DCF) of the corresponding nematic state. The DCF was determined using the pair correlation function by solving the Ornstein-Zernike equation. The pair correlation function, in turn, was obtained from molecular dynamics (MD) trajectory. Three different approaches for calculations of the elasticity constants were employed based on different level of approximation about the orientational order and molecular correlations. The best agreement with experimental values of elasticity constants was obtained in a model where the full orientational distribution function was used. In addition we have investigated the approximation about spherical distribution of the intermolecular vectors in the nematic phase, often used in derivation of various mean-field theories and employed here for the construction of the DCF. We found that this assumption is not strictly valid, in particular a strong deviation from the isotropic distribution is observed for short intermolecular distances. .Cz Theory and models of liquid crystal structure
Nematic twist-bend phase with nanoscale modulation of molecular orientation
Nature communications, 2013
A state of matter in which molecules show a long-range orientational order and no positional order is called a nematic liquid crystal. The best known and most widely used (for example, in modern displays) is the uniaxial nematic, with the rod-like molecules aligned along a single axis, called the director. When the molecules are chiral, the director twists in space, drawing a right-angle helicoid and remaining perpendicular to the helix axis; the structure is called a chiral nematic. Here using transmission electron and optical microscopy, we experimentally demonstrate a new nematic order, formed by achiral molecules, in which the director follows an oblique helicoid, maintaining a constant oblique angle with the helix axis and experiencing twist and bend. The oblique helicoids have a nanoscale pitch. The new twist-bend nematic represents a structural link between the uniaxial nematic (no tilt) and a chiral nematic (helicoids with right-angle tilt).
Twist-bend nematics, liquid crystal dimers, structure–property relations
Liquid Crystals, 2017
One of the current challenges in liquid crystal science is to understand the molecular factors leading to the formation of the intriguing twist-bend nematic phase (NTB) and determine its properties. During our earlier hunt for the NTB phase created on cooling directly from the isotropic phase and not the nematic phase, we had prepared 30 symmetric liquid crystal dimers. These had odd spacers and methylene links to the two mesogenic groups; desirable but clearly not essential features for the formation of the NTB. Here, we report the phases that the dimers exhibit and their transition temperatures as functions of both the lengths of the spacer and the terminal chains. In addition we describe the transitional entropies, their optical textures, the X-ray scattering patterns and the 2H NMR spectra employed in characterising the phases. All of which may lead to important properties of the twist-bend nematic phase. Graphical Abstract