Structure studies of the nematic phase formed by bent-core molecules.
In recent years there are several reports showing that bent-core mesogenic molecules are able to form biaxial nematic phase in which molecular rotation around the long molecular axis is strongly hindered. The x-ray pattern with azimuthally split signals at low angle region of diffraction is usually given as evidence for the biaxial nematic phase. We show experimentally and theoretically that such x-ray pattern is due to the local smectic- C fluctuations ("cybotactic" groups) in the uniaxial nematic phase.
Vaupotic
N
N
Department of Physics, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Maribor, Koroska 160, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia.
Szydlowska
J
J
Salamonczyk
M
M
Kovarova
A
A
Svoboda
J
J
Osipov
M
M
Pociecha
D
D
Gorecka
E
E