1,716 research outputs found
The design and investigation of the self-assembly of dimers with two nematic phases
A series of non-symmetric dimers were synthesised containing either cyanobiphenyl or difluoroterphenyl moieties on one side and a range of long, short, bent, polar or apolar mesogens on the other side of the molecules. The dielectric anisotropy of the mesogens was varied systematically. The systems were characterised by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), optical polarizing microscopy (OPM) and detailed X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies, both in the nematic and the Nx phase. The results are compared and structure properties relationships are discussed. A model for the assembly in the Nx phase is developed discussing Ntb structures, coaxial helices, swiss roll structures and chiral domain formation
Relaxation of a Colloidal Particle into a Nonequilibrium Steady State
We study the relaxation of a single colloidal sphere which is periodically
driven between two nonequilibrium steady states. Experimentally, this is
achieved by driving the particle along a toroidal trap imposed by scanned
optical tweezers. We find that the relaxation time after which the probability
distributions have been relaxed is identical to that obtained by a steady state
measurement. In quantitative agreement with theoretical calculations the
relaxation time strongly increases when driving the system further away from
thermal equilibrium
The stabilisation of the Nx phase in mixtures
The phase behaviour of mixtures between two symmetric dimers, CBC9CB and the ether-linked analogue CBOC9OCB was investigated by Polarizing Optical Microscopy (POM), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) studies. The dimeric constituents are fully miscible and the construction of a temperature-composition phase diagram reveals a surprising amplification of the stability of the Nx phase in compositions of up to 37 wt% of CBOC9OCB in CBC9CB. The origin for this enhancement of stability is discussed and an explanation based on chiral recognition is developed
Deuteron and proton NMR study of Dâ, p-dichlorobenzene and 1,3,5-trichlorobenzene in bimesogenic liquid crystals with two nematic phases
The solutes dideuterium, 1,3,5-trichlorobenzene and p-dichlorobenzene (pdcb) are co-dissolved in a 61/39 wt% mixture of CBC9CB/5CB, a bimesogenic liquid crystal with two nematic phases. NMR spectra are collected for each solute. The local electric field gradient (FZZ) is obtained from the dideuterium spectrum. A double Maier-Saupe potential (MSMS) is used to rationalize the order parameters of pdcb. The liquid-crystal fields Gâ and Gâ are taken to be due to size and shape interactions and interactions between the solute molecular quadrupole and the mean FZZ of the medium. The FZZâs obtained from Dâ and Gâ (from pdcb) are compared and discussed
Noninvasive Measurement of Dissipation in Colloidal Systems
According to Harada and Sasa [Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 130602 (2005)], heat
production generated in a non-equilibrium steady state can be inferred from
measuring response and correlation functions. In many colloidal systems,
however, it is a nontrivial task to determine response functions, whereas
details about spatial steady state trajectories are easily accessible. Using a
simple conditional averaging procedure, we show how this fact can be exploited
to reliably evaluate average heat production. We test this method using
Brownian dynamics simulations, and apply it to experimental data of an
interacting driven colloidal system
NMR study of a bimesogenic liquid crystal with two nematic phases
Recent interest in bimesogenic liquid crystals showing two nematic phases has led us to investigate the nematic mean-field interactions in these nematic phases by using rigid solutes as probes. The nematic potential that is modelled by two independent Maier-Saupe terms is successful in fitting the observed dipolar couplings (order parameters) of para-, meta- and ortho-dichlorobenzene solutes in both the nematic phases of 39 wt% of 4-n-pentyl-4â˛-cyanobiphenyl (5CB) in Îą,Ď-bis(4-4â˛-cyanobiphenyl)nonane (CB_C9_CB) to better than the 5% level. The derived liquid-crystal potential parameters Gâ and Gâ for each solute in the N and Ntb phases will be discussed. The most interesting observation is that G1 (associated with size and shape interactions) is almost constant in the Ntb phase, whereas Gâ (associated with longer-range electrostatic interactions) has large variation, even changing sign
A fibre forming smectic twist-bent liquid crystalline phase
We demonstrate the nanostructure and filament formation of a novel liquid crystal phase of a dimeric mesogen below the twistâbend nematic phase. The new fibre-forming phase is distinguished by a short-correlated smectic order combined with an additional nanoscale periodicity that is not associated with density modulation
Anomalous increase in nematic-isotropic transition temperature in dimer molecules induced by magnetic field
We have determined the nematic-isotropic transition temperature as a function of applied magnetic field in three different thermotropic liquid crystalline dimers. These molecules are comprised of two rigid calamitic moieties joined end to end by flexible spacers with odd numbers of methylene groups. They show an unprecedented magnetic field enhancement of nematic order in that the transition temperature is increased by up to 15K when subjected to 22T magnetic field. The increase is conjectured to be caused by a magnetic field-induced decrease of the average bend angle in the aliphatic spacers connecting the rigid mesogenic units of the dimers
Tight-binding study of high-pressure phase transitions in titanium: alpha to omega and beyond
We use a tight-binding total energy method, with parameters determined from a
fit to first-principles calculations, to examine the newly discovered gamma
phase of titanium. Our parameters were adjusted to accurately describe the
alpha Ti-omega Ti phase transition, which is misplaced by density functional
calculations. We find a transition from omega Ti to gamma Ti at 102 GPa, in
good agreement with the experimental value of 116 GPa. Our results suggest that
current density functional calculations will not reproduce the omega Ti-gamma
Ti phase transition, but will instead predict a transition from omega Ti to the
bcc beta Ti phase.Comment: 3 encapsulated Postscript figures, submitted to Phyical Review
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