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Updated: May 2, 2026

Orientational Transition in a Liquid Crystal Triggered by the Thermodynamic Growth of Interfacial Wetting Sheets
Published on: May 15, 2017
Hydrothermal decomposition of liquid crystal in subcritical water
Xuning Zhuang1, Wenzhi He2, Guangming Li2
1State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, No. 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, PR China; Shanghai Cooperative Centre for WEEE Recycling, Shanghai Second Polytechnic University, No. 2360 Jinhai Road, Shanghai 201209, PR China.
Abstract:
Treatment of liquid crystal has important significance for the environment protection and human health. This study proposed a hydrothermal process to decompose the liquid crystal of 4-octoxy-4'-cyanobiphenyl. Experiments were conducted with a 5.7 mL stainless tube reactor and heated by a salt-bath. Factors affecting the decomposition rate of 4-octoxy-4'-cyanobiphenyl were evaluated with HPLC. The decomposed liquid products were characterized by GC-MS. Under optimized conditions i.e., 0.2 mL H2O2 supply, pH value 6, temperature 275°C and reaction time 5 min, 97.6% of 4-octoxy-4'-cyanobiphenyl was decomposed into simple and environment-friendly products. Based on the mechanism analysis and products characterization, a possible hydrothermal decomposition pathway was proposed. The results indicate that hydrothermal technology is a promising choice for liquid crystal treatment.
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