Effect of Molecular Flexibility on the Nematic-to-Isotropic Phase Transition for Highly Biaxial Molecular Non-Symmetric Liquid Crystal Dimers

In this work, a study of the nematic (N)-isotropic (I) phase transition has been made in a series of odd non-symmetric liquid crystal dimers, the alpha-(4-cyanobiphenyl-4'-yloxy)-omega-(1-pyrenimine-benzylidene-4'-oxy) alkanes, by means of accurate calorimetric and dielectric measurements....

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Sebastián Ugarteche, Nerea, López, David O., Díez Berart, Sergio, De la Fuente Lavín, María Rosario, Salud, Josep, Pérez Jubindo, Miguel Ángel, Ros, Blanca María
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2011
País:España
Institución:Universidad del País Vasco
Repositorio:Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigación
OAI Identifier:oai:addi.ehu.eus:10810/11604
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10810/11604
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:liquid crystal dimers
phase transitions
critical exponents
calorimetry
dielectric spectroscopy
MATERIALS SCIENCE
Descripción
Sumario:In this work, a study of the nematic (N)-isotropic (I) phase transition has been made in a series of odd non-symmetric liquid crystal dimers, the alpha-(4-cyanobiphenyl-4'-yloxy)-omega-(1-pyrenimine-benzylidene-4'-oxy) alkanes, by means of accurate calorimetric and dielectric measurements. These materials are potential candidates to present the elusive biaxial nematic (N-B) phase, as they exhibit both molecular biaxiality and flexibility. According to the theory, the uniaxial nematic (N-U)-isotropic (I) phase transition is first-order in nature, whereas the N-B-I phase transition is second-order. Thus, a fine analysis of the critical behavior of the N-I phase transition would allow us to determine the presence or not of the biaxial nematic phase and understand how the molecular biaxiality and flexibility of these compounds influences the critical behavior of the N-I phase transition.