Issue 30, 2017

A frustrated phase driven by competition among layer structures

Abstract

Using our designed ternary system consisting of a semiperfluorinated smectic liquid crystal and two nematic liquid crystals, we investigated their phase transition behaviour using polarizing optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction. A mixture containing 20 mol% of the semiperfluorinated compound was found to exhibit the following unusual phase sequence: isotropic liquid − isotropic liquid + smectic A phase − nematic phase − unidentified frustrated phase (X) − modulated phase (Y) − modulated phase (Z). The frustrated phase showed a fan-shaped texture characteristic of a smectic phase, but no peak corresponding to the layer spacing was detected. No difference was found in the shearing stress between the high-temperature N phase and the frustrated phase, but electro-optical switching observed in the N phase was not detected in the frustrated phase. We discuss how the molecules organize the unusual phase transition behaviour.

Graphical abstract: A frustrated phase driven by competition among layer structures

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
01 Jun 2017
Accepted
15 Jun 2017
First published
15 Jun 2017

Soft Matter, 2017,13, 5194-5203

A frustrated phase driven by competition among layer structures

T. Sasaki, Y. Takanishi, J. Yamamoto and A. Yoshizawa, Soft Matter, 2017, 13, 5194 DOI: 10.1039/C7SM01090G

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