title: Binary System Exhibiting the Nematic to Twist-Bend Nematic Transition: Behavior of Permittivity and Elastic Constants.
abstract: We describe measurements of the permittivity and Frank elastic constant in the nematic phase of a binary system displaying a transition between the nematic (N) and the recently discovered twist-bend nematic (NTB) phase. Among the salient features observed are (i) the existence of the NTB phase even when the system is loaded with a high concentration (∼64 mol %) of a rodlike component; (ii) a clear signature in permittivity of the N-NTB transition; and (iii) a lower value of the bend elastic constant compared to the splay over a large phase space, with the difference between the two becoming a maximum for an intermediate mixture. These studies further support the surprising idea that the elastic features associated with bent molecules can be further augmented by suitable rodlike additives.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences , Bengaluru 560013, India.
authors.forename: Srividhya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Parthasarathi
authors.affiliation: Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences , Bengaluru 560013, India.
authors.forename: D S Shankar
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.affiliation: Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences , Bengaluru 560013, India.
authors.forename: Nani Babu
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Palakurthy
authors.affiliation: Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences , Bengaluru 560013, India.
authors.forename: C V
authors.initials: CV
authors.lastname: Yelamaggad
authors.affiliation: Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences , Bengaluru 560013, India.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Krishna Prasad