Confinement-induced orientational order in a ferroelectric liquid crystal containing dispersed aerosils.
The study of the smectic-A to chiral smectic-C(*) phase transition of the liquid crystal S-(+)-[4-(2(')-methyl butyl) phenyl 4(')-n-octylbiphenyl-4-carboxylate] (CE8) containing dispersed hydrophilic aerosils reveals novel properties, important to understanding quenched disorder and confinement in ferroelectric liquid crystals. Smectic layer compression leads to a distribution of transition temperatures inducing smearing of the macroscopic data across the transition. A pronounced confinement-induced pretransitional tilted order is observed.
Cordoyiannis
George
G
National Centre for Scientific Research Demokritos, 153 10 Aghia Paraskevi, Greece.
Nounesis
George
G
Bobnar
Vid
V
Kralj
Samo
S
Kutnjak
Zdravko
Z