Formation of the smectic-B crystal from a simple monatomic liquid.
We report a molecular dynamics simulation demonstrating that the smectic-B crystalline phase (Cry-B), commonly observed in mesogenic systems of anisotropic molecules, can be formed by a system of identical particles interacting via a spherically symmetric potential. The Cry-B phase forms as a result of a first-order transition from an isotropic liquid phase upon isochoric cooling at appropriate number density. Its structure, determined by the design of the pair potential, corresponds to the Cry-B structure formed by elongated particles with the aspect ratio 1.8. The diffraction pattern and the real-space structure inspection demonstrate dominance of the ABC-type of axial layer stacking. This result opens a general possibility of producing smectic phases using isotropic interparticle interaction both in simulations and in colloidal systems.
Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Stockholm University, Arrhenius Väg. 16C S-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.
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Metere
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, California 94551, USA.
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Oppelstrup
Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Stockholm University, Arrhenius Väg. 16C S-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.
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Sarman
Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Stockholm University, Arrhenius Väg. 16C S-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.
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Laaksonen
Department of Mathematics and Centre for Parallel Computers, Royal Institute of Technology, S-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden.
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Dzugutov