Orientational Order in the Splay Nematic Ground State

<p>Modulated nematic liquid crystal phases, which lack positional order but have some periodic variation in the direction of average orientation present in a classical nematic, have attracted significant interest. In the recently discovered splay nematic (N_S) phase the average orientational order is augmented with a periodic splay deformation of orientation perpendicular to the director. We use X-ray scattering experiments to measure the orientational order parameters in the nematic (N) and splay nematic (N_S) phases of the liquid crystalline material RM734. The degree of orientational order is somewhat larger in the N_S phase than in the preceding nematic and temperature dependent. We reconstruct the orientational distribution function and find it to be nematic-like in the N_S phase, indicating the change in orientation between neighbouring molecules due to the splay modulation is very small. A small splay angle implies that the splay modulation period is larger than the few tens of nanometers originally envisaged. The method described herein can be used to assist in unambiguous identification of the splay-nematic phase.</p>

Orientational Order in the Splay Nematic Ground State

<p>Modulated nematic liquid crystal phases, which lack positional order but have some periodic variation in the direction of average orientation present in a classical nematic, have attracted significant interest. In the recently discovered splay nematic (N_S) phase the average orientational order is augmented with a periodic splay deformation of orientation perpendicular to the director. We use X-ray scattering experiments to measure the orientational order parameters in the nematic (N) and splay nematic (N_S) phases of the liquid crystalline material RM734. The degree of orientational order is somewhat larger in the N_S phase than in the preceding nematic and temperature dependent. We reconstruct the orientational distribution function and find it to be nematic-like in the N_S phase, indicating the change in orientation between neighbouring molecules due to the splay modulation is very small. A small splay angle implies that the splay modulation period is larger than the few tens of nanometers originally envisaged. The method described herein can be used to assist in unambiguous identification of the splay-nematic phase.</p>

Experiment on Negative Magneto-Rheological Characteristics to Verify the Theoretical Prediction Based on the Orientational Distribution Function

In a suspension composed of spindle-like hematite particles (α-Fe2O3), the previous theoretical study based on the orientational distribution function has shown that the viscosity due to the magnetic properties of spindle-like hematite particles exhibits negative magneto-rheological characteristics in a certain situation of the orientational distribution of the particles under a certain applied magnetic field circumstance. This is mainly because the spindle-like hematite particles have a unique characteristic in that they are magnetized in a direction normal to the particle axis direction. This weak magnetic characteristic yields an advantage to the suspension in that it is relatively straightforward to synthesize a stable dispersion of such hematite particles because the electric double layer functions well for preventing the particles from aggregating. The negative magneto-rheological effect has also energetically been investigated by a simulation approach based on the Brownian dynamics and these simulation results clearly show that the negative magneto-rheological characteristics certainly arise in a multi-particle suspension system. From this background, in the previous experimental study, we synthesized a suspension composed of spindle-like hematite particles and measured the viscosity due to the magnetic properties of the particles in a simple shear flow. This first simple experiment has succeeded in verifying that the negative magneto-rheological characteristics surely arise in an actual hematite particle suspension. The present study further advances the experimental investigation of the negative magneto-rheological effect in order to obtain the more detailed data of these negative magneto-rheological characteristics. The viscosity due to the magnetic properties was measured using a cone-plate-type rheometer, located in the uniform area of the magnetic field, under various conditions of the magnetic field strength and the shear rate of a shear flow. The viscosity of hematite-glycerol-water dispersions becomes negative, attains to a minimum value, after that starts to increase, and finally becomes positive with increasing magnetic field strength. These characteristics of the negative viscosity are in good agreement with the theoretical prediction that was obtained by the orientational distribution function.

Orientational Behaviour of some Novel Fluoro-Substituted Liquid Crystals as Studied by Optical Spectroscopy Methods

The long-range orientational order of eight newly synthesized fluoro-substituted liquid crystals, two with a positive dielectric anisotropy and six with a negative dielectric anisotropy, was studied by means of the optical spectroscopy methods: electronic absorption and fluorescence. The liquid crystals were doped with small amount of the fluorescent dichroic dye. The absorption and emission spectra of linearly polarized light were recorded as a function of temperature in the whole range of the mesophase. The results obtained allow to determine the order parameters〈P2 and〈P4〉as well as the orientational distribution function. An importance of the molecular structure of the liquid crystal on the orientational order was ascertained and discussed.