Biaxial Nematic Liquid Crystals
Theory, Simulation and Experiment
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Beschreibung
In the nematic liquid crystal phase, rod-shaped molecules move randomly but remain essentially parallel to one another. Biaxial nematics, which were first predicted in 1970 by Marvin Freiser, have their molecules differentially oriented along two axes. They have the potential to create displays with fast switching times and may have applications in thin-film displays and other liquid crystal technologies.
This book is the first to be concerned solely with biaxial nematic liquid crystals, both lyotropic and thermotropic, formed by low molar mass as well as polymeric systems. It opens with a general introduction to the biaxial nematic phase and covers:
* Order parameters and distribution functions
* Molecular field theory
* Theories for hard biaxial particles
* Computer simulation of biaxial nematics
* Alignment of the phase
* Display applications
* Characterisation and identification
* Lyotropic, thermotropic and colloidal systems together with material design
With a consistent, coherent and pedagogical approach, this book brings together theory, simulations and experimental studies; it includes contributions from some of the leading figures in the field. It is relevant to students and researchers as well as to industry professionals working in soft matter, liquid crystals, liquid crystal devices and their applications throughout materials science, chemistry, physics, mathematics and display engineering.
Liquid Crystals are a state of matter that have properties between those of conventional liquid and those of a solid crystal. Thermotropic liquid crystals react to changes in temperature or, in some cases, pressure. The reaction of lyotropic liquid crystals, which are used in the manufacture of soaps and detergents, depends on the type of solvent they are mixed with.
Since the accidental discovery of the chiral nematic (ordered) phase in 1888 many liquid crystal phases have been found, sometimes by chance and sometimes by design. The existence of one such phase was predicted by Freiser in 1970, this was the biaxial nematic phase which has biaxial symmetry in contrast to that of the ubiquitous nematic phase which ix uniaxial. The biaxial symmetry of the predicted phase confers on it an additional layer of fascinating complexity.
This book is devoted to the biaxial nematic phase, both lyotropic and thermotropic, formed by low molar mass as well as polymeric systems. It brings together theory, simulations and experimental studies. The book opens with a general introduction to the biaxial nematic phase, while chapters 2-7 discuss current theories and predictions. Chapters 8 and 9 report on alignment and applications, while chapters 10.1 -10.5 detail characterization with the goal of unambiguous identification. Final chapters (11-14) cover Lyotropic, Colloidal, Thermotropic and Low Molar Mass Thermotropic Systems respectively.
Autor*in
Geoffrey R. Luckhurst
Themen in »Biaxial Nematic Liquid Crystals«
Chemie Chemistry Computational Chemistry & Molecular Modeling Computational Chemistry u. Molecular Modeling Flüssigkristall Materials Science Materialwissenschaften Physikalische Chemie Soft Matter