scispace - formally typeset
Search or ask a question
Journal ArticleDOI

Density Effects in the Landau-De Gennes Theory Near the Nematic-Isotropic Phase Transition

20 Nov 1997-International Journal of Modern Physics B (World Scientific Publishing Company)-Vol. 11, Iss: 29, pp 3479-3489
TL;DR: In this article, the density effects at the nematic-isotropic phase transition were studied by means of Landau-de-Gennes theory, and the analysis showed that the density variation shifts the NIS transition temperature TNI and changes the Landaude gennes free energy expansion coefficients.
Abstract: Density effects at the nematic–isotropic phase transition is studied by means of Landau–de Gennes theory. The analysis shows that the density variation shifts the nematic–isotropic transition temperature TNI and changes the Landau–de gennes free energy expansion coefficients. The possibility of the tricritical behaviour of the nematic–isotropic phase transition is also discussed by the density variation. The low value of TNI-T* (T* is the absolute stability limit of the isotropic phase) and the various thermodynamic quantities are also calculated to compare with the experimental data.
Citations
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present experimental and theoretical results for the critical behavior in the isotropic phase of nematogens and discuss the possibility of tricritical behavior at the nematic-isotropic transition.
Abstract: The low value of , where is the nematic-isotropic phase transition temperature and denotes the virtual transition temperature, is a long-standing puzzle in the physics of liquid crystals. The present review presents experimental and theoretical results on this long-standing problem. New experimental and theoretical results for the critical behaviour in the isotropic phase of nematogens are reviewed. We calculate in a unified approach the low value of , at both critical and tricritical points. The possibility of tricritical behaviour at the nematic-isotropic transition is also discussed by means of Landau theory. The various predictions are compared with the available experimental results.

62 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is proved that both phase transitions are weakly first order, displaying a nearly tricritical behavior, and the width of metastable regions seems to be dependent on the physical magnitude, although specific heat and volumetric determinations allow for comparable results.
Abstract: Different kind of measurements were performed on the liquid crystal nonyloxycyanobiphenyl (9OCB) to carry out a study of the molecular dynamics in the smectic A (SmA), nematic (N), and isotropic (I) phases as well as an exhaustive analysis of both the SmA-to-N and N-to-I phase transitions. For the dynamic study, broadband dielectric spectroscopy (102 to 1.8 × 109 Hz) was used. Two orientations (parallel and perpendicular) of the molecular director with regard to the probing electric field were investigated. From this study, the static dielectric permittivity was obtained in both alignments and, in addition, the molecular motions that contribute to each one were discussed. The static dielectric data together with specific heat and volumetric determinations were analyzed, proving that both phase transitions are weakly first order, displaying a nearly tricritical behavior. However, the width of metastable regions seems to be dependent on the physical magnitude, although specific heat and volumetric determina...

41 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, high-resolution molar volume data for 4-cyano-4-n-octylbiphenyl (8CB) were presented as a function of temperature near the nematic to isotropic (NI) phase transition.
Abstract: High-resolution molar volume data for 4-cyano-4‘-n-octylbiphenyl (8CB) are presented as a function of temperature near the nematic to isotropic (NI) phase transition. Close to the NI transition the...

20 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The cyclic liquid crystalline trimer TPB-(c)9(3) was investigated by optical retardation and Fréedericksz techniques within a few tens of millikelvins of the superheating limit of the nearly second-order nematic-isotropic phase transition.
Abstract: The cyclic liquid crystalline trimer TPB-(c)9(3) was investigated by optical retardation and Freedericksz techniques within a few tens of millikelvins of the superheating limit of the nearly second-order nematic-isotropic phase transition. Both the optical retardation and the Freedericksz bend threshold voltage are in good agreement with tricritical behavior for the transition.

19 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a Landau-de-Gennes phenomenological model is proposed to describe the pressure induced smectic A-nematic phase transition, and the influence of pressure on the phase transition is discussed for varying coupling between orientational and translational order parameter with pressure.
Abstract: We propose a Landau-de Gennes phenomenological model to describe the pressure induced smectic A-nematic phase transition. The influence of pressure on smectic A-nematic phase transitions are discussed for varying coupling between orientational and translational order parameter with pressure. Increasing the pressure, the first order nematic-smectic A transition becomes second order at a tricritical point which agrees fairly well with available experimental results.

4 citations