- Physical Review Journals
All JournalsPhysics Magazine
Access Provided by Xinjiang University

Physical Review E

Export citation

Export citation

Choose format for download:

Download Citation
  • Access by Xinjiang University

Role of stringlike, supramolecular assemblies in reentrant supernematic liquid crystals

Marco G. Mazza1, Manuel Greschek1, Rustem Valiullin2, and Martin Schoen1,3

  • 1Stranski-Laboratorium für Physikalische und Theoretische Chemie, Technische Universität Berlin, Straße des 17. Juni 135, D-10623 Berlin, Germany,
  • 2Institut für Experimentelle Physik I, Universität Leipzig, Linnéstraße 5, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany,
  • 3Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, 911 Partners Way, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, USA

PDF

Phys. Rev. E 83, 051704 – Published 13 May, 2011

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.83.051704

Abstract

Using a combination of isothermal-isobaric Monte Carlo and microcanonical molecular dynamics we investigate the relation between structure and self-diffusion in various phases of a model liquid crystal using the Gay-Berne-Kihara potential. These molecules are confined to a mesoscopic slit pore with atomically smooth substrate surfaces. As reported recently [seeM. G. Mazza et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 227802 (2010)], a reentrant nematic (RN) phase may form at sufficiently high pressures and densities. This phase is characterized by a high degree of nematic order and a substantially enhanced self-diffusivity in the direction of the director n∧ that exceeds that of the lower-density nematic and an intermittent smectic-A phase by about an order of magnitude. Here we demonstrate that the unique transport behavior in the RN phase may be linked to a confinement-induced packing effect that causes the formation of supramolecular, stringlike conformations. The strings consist of several molecules traveling in the direction of n∧ as individual “trains” consisting of chains of molecular “cars.”

    View figure in article

      Article Text

      References (59)

      1. P. G. de Gennes, The Physics of Liquid Crystals (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1974).
      2. P. M. Chaikin and T. C. Lubensky, Principles of Condensed Matter Physics (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 2000)
      3. C. Bechinger, Q.-H. Wei, and P. Leiderer, J. Phys. Condens. Matter 12, A425 (2000).
      4. N. Osaka, S. Miyazaki, S. Okabe, H. Endo, A. Sasai, K. I. Seno, S. Aoshima, and M. Shibayama, J. Chem. Phys. 127, 094905 (2007).
      5. J. Dudowicz, J. F. Douglas, and K. F. Freed, J. Chem. Phys. 130, 164905 (2009).
      6. W. K. Lee, B. A. Wintner, E. Fontes, P. A. Heiney, M. Ohba, J. N. Haseltine, and A. B. Smith, Liq. Cryst. 4, 87 (1989).
      7. J. Szydlowska, A. Krówczyński, R. Bilewicz, D. Pociecha, and Ł. Głaz, J. Mater. Chem. 18, 1108 (2008).
      8. D. Pociecha, E. Gorecka, M. Čepič, N. Vaupotic, B. Zeks, D. Kardas, and J. Mieczkowski, Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 3048 (2001).
      9. G. Heppke, H.-S. Kitzerow, D. Lötzsch, and C. Papenfuß, Liq. Cryst. 8, 407 (1990).
      10. H. Kleinert, S. Schmidt, and A. Pelster, Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 160402 (2004).
      11. M. B. Pinto, R. O. Ramos, and J. E. Parreira, Phys. Rev. D 71, 123519 (2005).
      12. P. E. Cladis, Phys. Rev. Lett. 35, 48 (1975).
      13. P. E. Cladis, R. K. Bogardus, W. B. Daniels, and G. N. Taylor, Phys. Rev. Lett. 39, 720 (1977).
      14. P. E. Cladis, R. K. Bogardus, and D. Aadsen, Phys. Rev. A 18, 2292 (1978).
      15. F. Hardouin, G. Sigaud, M. F. Archard, and H. Gasparoux, Phys. Lett. A 71, 347 (1979).
      16. G. Sigaud, N. Huu Tinh, F. Hardouin, and H. Gasparoux, Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst. 69, 81 (1981).
      17. P. E. Cladis, Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst. 165, 85 (1988).
      18. A. N. Berker and J. S. Walker, Phys. Rev. Lett. 47, 1469 (1981).
      19. R. R. Netz and A. N. Berker, Phys. Rev. Lett. 68, 333 (1992).
      20. L. Longa and W. H. de Jeu, Phys. Rev. A 26, 1632 (1982).
      21. A. Ferrarini, G. R. Luckhurst, P. L. Nordio, and E. Spoalore, Mol. Phys. 89, 1087 (1996).
      22. E. de Miguel and E. Martin del Río, Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 217802 (2005).
      23. R. Y. Dong, J. Chem. Phys. 75, 2621 (1981).
      24. R. Y. Dong, J. Chem. Phys. 76, 5659 (1982).
      25. S. Miyajima, K. Akaba, and T. Chiba, Solid State Commun. 49, 675 (1984).
      26. J. Bharatam and C. R. Bowers, J. Phys. Chem. B 103, 2510 (1999).
      27. B. R. Ratna, R. Shashidhar, and K. V. Rao, Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst. 74, 143 (1981).
      28. M. G. Mazza, M. Greschek, R. Valiullin, J. Kärger, and M. Schoen, Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 227802 (2010).
      29. B. J. Borah, H. Jobic, and S. Yashonath, J. Chem. Phys. 132, 144507 (2010).
      30. F. Vollrath and D. P. Knight, Nature (London) 410, 541 (2001).
      31. B. Martínez-Haya, A. Cuetos, S. Lago, and L. F. Rull, J. Chem. Phys. 122, 024908 (2004).
      32. C. Vega and S. Lago, Comput. Chem. 18, 55 (1994).
      33. J. G. Gay and B. J. Berne, J. Chem. Phys. 74, 3316 (1981).
      34. T. Gruhn and M. Schoen, Phys. Rev. E 55, 2861 (1997).
      35. T. Kihara, Adv. Chem. Phys. 5, 147 (1963).
      36. A. Cuetos, B. Martínez-Haya, S. Lago, and L. F. Rull, Phys. Rev. E 68, 011704 (2003).
      37. L. Verlet, Phys. Rev. 159, 98 (1967).
      38. M. Schoen, Physica A 270, 353 (1999).
      39. J. M. Ilnytskyi and M. R. Wilson, Comput. Phys. Commun. 148, 43 (2002).
      40. H. Pardowitz and S. Hess, Physica A 100, 540 (1980).
      41. R. Eppenga and D. Frenkel, Mol. Phys. 52, 1303 (1984).
      42. W. Maier and A. Saupe, Z. Naturforsch., A 14, 882 (1959).
      43. W. Maier and A. Saupe, Z. Naturforsch., A 15, 287 (1960).
      44. A. Richter and T. Gruhn, J. Chem. Phys. 125, 064908 (2006).
      45. M. Schoen and S. H. L. Klapp, Nanoconfined Fluids: Soft Matter between Two and Three Dimensions (Wiley-VCH, Hoboken, 2007).
      46. S. H. L. Klapp, Y. Zeng, D. Qu, and R. von Klitzing, Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 118303 (2008).
      47. M. Greschek, M. Melle, and M. Schoen, Soft Matter 6, 1898 (2010).
      48. G. W. Robinson, C. H. Cho, and J. Urquidi, J. Chem. Phys. 111, 698 (1999).
      49. J. P. Hansen and I. R. McDonald, Theory of Simple Liquids (Academic Press, London, 2006).
      50. H. Löwen, Phys. Rev. E 59, 1989 (1999).
      51. Y.-C. Liu, J. D. Moore, Q. Chen, T. J. Roussel, Q. Wang, and K. E. Gubbins, Diffusion Fundamentals, vol. 3 (Leipziger Universitätsverlag, Leipzig, 2009), p. 164.
      52. V. Kukla, J. Kornatowski, D. Demuth, I. Girnus, H. Pfeifer, L. V. C. Rees, S. Schunk, K. K. Unger, and J. Kärger, Science 272, 702 (1996).
      53. T. Kaneko, Y. F. Li, S. Nishigaki, and R. Hatakeyama, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 130, 2714 (2008).
      54. C. Lutz, M. Kollmann, and C. Bechinger, Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 026001 (2004).
      55. R. Valiullin, J. Kärger, and R. Gläser, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 11, 2833 (2009).
      56. S. V. Dvinskikh and I. Furo, J. Chem. Phys. 115, 1946 (2001).
      57. R. Valiullin and A. Khokhlov, Phys. Rev. E 73, 051605 (2006).
      58. E. E. Romanova, F. Grinberg, A. Pampel, J. Kärger, and D. Freude, J. Magn. Reson. 196, 110 (2009).
      59. D. Fincham, Mol. Simul. 11, 79 (1993).

      Outline

      Information

      Phys. Rev. E 83, 051704– Published 13 May, 2011
      • Received 7 January 2011

      ©2011 American Physical Society

      Sign In to Your Journals Account

      Filter

      Filter

      Article Lookup

      Enter a citation