Search results for "liquid crystal"
showing 10 items of 492 documents
A new insight into the isotropic–nematic phase transition in lyotropic solutions of semiflexible polymers: density-functional theory tested by molecu…
2016
Semiflexible polymers in solution are studied for a wide range of both contour length L and persistence length lp as a function of monomer concentration under good solvent conditions. Both density-functional theory (DFT) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation methods are used, and a very good agreement between both techniques is observed for rather stiff polymers. Evidence for a new mechanism of order parameter fluctuations in the nematic phase is presented, namely collective deformations of bundles of wormlike chains twisted around each other, and the typical wavelengths and amplitudes of these modes are estimated. These long wavelength fluctuations cause a reduction of the order parameter…
Nematic order in solutions of semiflexible polymers: Hairpins, elastic constants, and the nematic-smectic transition
2018
Coarse-grained models of lyotropic solutions of semiflexible polymers are studied by both molecular dynamics simulations and density functional theory calculations, using an implicit solvent bead-spring model with a bond-angle potential. We systematically vary the monomer density, persistence length, and contour length over a wide range and explore the full range from the isotropic-nematic transition to the nematic-smectic transition. In the nematic regime, we span the entire regime from rigid-rod like polymers to thin wormlike chains, confined in effective straight tubes caused by the collective nematic effective ordering field. We show that the distribution of bond angles relative to the …
Bending or buckling: Compression-induced phase transition in a semi-flexible polymer brush
2013
Molecular-dynamics simulations are presented for systems of densely grafted semiflexible macromolecules grafted to a planar non-adsorbing substrate, studying the case where the persistence length of the polymers is of the same order as their contour length so that the polymer brush may exhibit nematic order. We focus our attention on the case where the first bond must orient perpendicularly to the substrate (so the structure resembles a "Fakir's bed" for short chains and a "polymer bristle" for longer chains). When such layers are exposed to uniform compression, the pressure vs. distance relationship exhibits two stages: i) for very small compression the chains exhibit "buckling" yet mainta…
Semiflexible polymers under good solvent conditions interacting with repulsive walls.
2016
Solutions of semiflexible polymers confined by repulsive planar walls are studied by density functional theory and Molecular Dynamics simulations, to clarify the competition between the chain alignment favored by the wall and the depletion caused by the monomer-wall repulsion. A coarse-grained bead-spring model with bond bending potential is studied, varying both the contour length and the persistence length of the polymers, as well as the monomer concentration in the solution (good solvent conditions are assumed throughout, and solvent molecules are not included explicitly). The profiles of monomer density and pressure tensor components near the wall are studied, and the surface tension of…
Understanding the properties of liquid-crystalline polymers by computational modeling
2020
Abstract A topical review of recent theoretical work on the properties of lyotropic solutions and melts containing semiflexible polymers in thermal equilibrium is given, with a focus on the liquid-crystalline and smectic order of these systems in the bulk and under confinement. Starting with a discussion of single chain properties in terms of the Kratky-Porod worm-like chain model and its limitations, extensions along the lines of Onsager’s theory for the isotropic-nematic transition of solutions of hard rods are briefly reviewed. This discussion is followed by a review of recent Molecular Dynamics simulations and classical Density Functional Theory calculations. It is argued that, even in …
CaSO4 and its pressure-induced phase transitions. A density functional theory study
2012
Theoretical investigations concerning possible calcium sulfate, CaSO(4), high-pressure polymorphs have been carried out. Total-energy calculations and geometry optimizations have been performed by using density functional theory at the B3LYP level for all crystal structures considered. The following sequence of pressure-driven structural transitions has been found: anhydrite, Cmcm (in parentheses the transition pressure) → monazite-type, P2(1)/n (5 GPa) → barite-type, Pnma (8 GPa), and scheelite-type, I4(1)/a (8 GPa). The equation of state of the different polymorphs is determined, while their corresponding vibrational properties have been calculated and compared with previous theoretical r…
In-Plane Anisotropy and Phase Change in Langmuir-Blodgett Films of a Triphenylene Derivative
1993
Abstract The “in-plane anisotropy” of a triphenylene derivative in Langmuir-Blodgett (L.B.) films has been investigated. Upon heating, L.B. films exhibit a reversible phase transition appearing as an abrupt increase from a low to a high “in-plane anisotropy” corresponding to the formation of the same hexagonal liquid crystal phase observed in the bulk material at almost the same temperature, with the columnar axis aligned along the dipping direction.
Photophysical Properties of Discotic Dibenzopyrenes
1997
Abstract The photophysical properties of three discogenic dibenzopyrenes substituted by eight pentyloxy (O5DPB), heptyloxy (O7DBPP) or decyloxy (O10DBP) side chains are studied in solution and thin films. It is shown that the absorption and fluorescence spectra of the columnar mesophases are clearly distinguishable from those of the corresponding crystalline phases, allowing the study of phase transitions. Thus, it is found that the shorter the lateral chain length, the slower the crystallisation process. For O5DBP, the supercooled mesophase is stable over a period of at least one year; it crystallises after cooling below the glassy transition. Such a behaviour gives rise to temperature con…
Gravity-induced liquid crystal phase transitions of colloidal platelets.
2004
he influence of gravity on a suspension of sterically stabilized colloidal gibbsite platelets is studied. An initially isotropic-nematic biphasic sample of such a suspension develops a columnar phase on the bottom on prolonged standing. This phenomenon is described using a simple osmotic compression model. We performed Monte Carlo simulations of cut spheres with aspect ratio L/D = 1/15 and took data from the literature to supply the equations of state required for the model. We find that the model describes the observed three-phase equilibrium quite well.
Mass spectrometry of surfactant aggregates.
2012
In contrast with the enormous amount of literature produced during many decades in the field of surfactant aggregation in liquid, liquid crystalline and solid phases, only a few investigations concerning surfactant self-assembling in the gas phase as charged aggregates have been carried out until now. This lack of interest is disappointing in view of the remarkable theoretical and practical importance of the inherent knowledge. The absence of surfactant–solvent interactions makes it easier to study the role of surfactant–surfactant forces in determining their peculiar self-assembling features as well as the ability of these assemblies to incorporate selected solubilizate molecules. Thus, t…