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Emergence of biaxial nematic phases in solutions of semiflexible dimers.
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Vaghela, Arvin Teixeira, Paulo Ivo Cortez Terentjev, Eugene M. |
| Copyright Year | 2017 |
| Abstract | We investigate the isotropic, uniaxial nematic and biaxial nematic phases, and the transitions between them, for a model lyotropic mixture of flexible molecules consisting of two rigid rods connected by a spacer with variable bending stiffness. We apply density-functional theory within the Onsager approximation to describe strictly excluded-volume interactions in this athermal model and to self-consistently find the orientational order parameters dictated by its complex symmetry, as functions of the density. Earlier work on lyotropic ordering of rigid bent-rod molecules is reproduced and extended to show explicitly the continuous phase transition at the Landau point, at a critical bend angle of 36^{∘}. For flexible dimers with no intrinsic biaxiality, we find that a biaxial nematic phase can nevertheless form at a sufficiently high density and low bending stiffness. For bending stiffness κ>0.86k_{B}T, this biaxial phase manifests as dimer bending fluctuations occurring preferentially in one plane. When the dimers are more flexible, κ<0.86k_{B}T, the modal shape of the fluctuating dimer is a V with an acute opening angle, and one of the biaxial order parameters changes sign, indicating a rotation of the directors. These two regions are separated by a narrow strip of uniaxial nematic in the phase diagram, which we generate in terms of the spacer stiffness and particle density. |
| Starting Page | 042703 |
| Ending Page | 042703 |
| Page Count | 1 |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1810/270384/EF11952%20revised_2.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1 |
| PubMed reference number | 29347574v1 |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.96.042703 |
| DOI | 10.1103/physreve.96.042703 |
| Journal | Physical review. E |
| Volume Number | 96 |
| Issue Number | 4-1 |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Bending - Changing basic body position Continuous Phase Exclusion Muscle Rigidity Phase Transition Rod Photoreceptors Solutions Spacer Device Component |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
