Interlayer interactions in enantiomeric anticlinic liquid crystalline mixtures
The interlayer interaction coefficient U in the anticlinic phase of enantiomeric binary mixtures was determined by measuring the threshold electric field for the onset of solitary waves. U was found to increase with decreasing temperature in the anticlinic phase for a given enantiomer excess X. The ratio U(X,straight theta)/U(X=1,straight theta), where straight theta is the polar angle, was found to be significantly smaller for mixtures with low enantiomer excess than for the optically pure material. The observed behavior is analyzed using a mean-field model for dipole-dipole interactions in adjacent layers.
Dodge
MR
Department of Physics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA.
Rosenblatt
C