Issue 46, 2014

Molecular geometry, twist-bend nematic phase and unconventional elasticity: a generalised Maier–Saupe theory

Abstract

It has been found that bent-shaped achiral molecules can form a liquid crystal phase, called the Twist-Bend Nematic (NTB), which is locally polar and spontaneously twisted having a tilted director, with a conglomerate of degenerate chiral domains with opposite handedness and pitch of a few molecular lengths. Here, using a major extension of the Maier–Saupe molecular field theory, we can describe the transition from the nematic (N) to the NTB phase. We provide a consistent picture of the structural and elastic properties in the two phases, as a function of the molecular bend angle, and show that on approaching the transition there is a gradual softening of the bend mode in the N phase. This points to the crucial role of the molecular shape for the formation of modulated nematic phases and their behaviour.

Graphical abstract: Molecular geometry, twist-bend nematic phase and unconventional elasticity: a generalised Maier–Saupe theory

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
29 Sep 2014
Accepted
14 Oct 2014
First published
15 Oct 2014

Soft Matter, 2014,10, 9318-9323

Author version available

Molecular geometry, twist-bend nematic phase and unconventional elasticity: a generalised Maier–Saupe theory

C. Greco, G. R. Luckhurst and A. Ferrarini, Soft Matter, 2014, 10, 9318 DOI: 10.1039/C4SM02173H

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