Mesophase structure and behaviour in bulk and restricted geometry of a dimeric compound exhibiting a nematic–nematic transition

We present structural studies of a dimeric compound composed of a central heptyl spacer linking two mesogens consisting of terphenyl units at which two adjacent fluoro groups are attached to each central ring. The terminal rings are linked to pentyl chains as terminal groups. The material exhibits a...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Sebastián, N., Tamba, M. G., Stannarius, R., De la Fuente Lavín, María Rosario, Salamonczyk, M., Cukrov, G., Gleeson, J., Sprunt, S., Jákli, A., Welch, C., Ahmed, Z., Mehl, G. H., Eremin, A.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2016
País:España
Institución:Universidad del País Vasco
Repositorio:Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigación
OAI Identifier:oai:addi.ehu.eus:10810/25990
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10810/25990
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:liquid-crystal dimer
twist-bend phase
mesogenic dimers
molecular theory
N-TB
bimesogens
order
Descripción
Sumario:We present structural studies of a dimeric compound composed of a central heptyl spacer linking two mesogens consisting of terphenyl units at which two adjacent fluoro groups are attached to each central ring. The terminal rings are linked to pentyl chains as terminal groups. The material exhibits a nematic-nematic transition and a low temperature modulated phase. The higher temperature nematic phase was found to exhibit an anomaly of the bend elastic constant similar to that of the dimers with N-N-tb phase sequence, and the physical properties of the low-temperature nematic phase are similar to those of the known N-tb materials. The structure of the low-temperature modulated smectic/columnar phase is described together with its ability to form freely suspended films and fibres. The relation of the modulated structure to the fibre formation and to the appearance of the labyrinthine instability in freely-suspended films is discussed.