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Criticality Controlling Mechanisms in Nematic Liquid Crystals
Maha Zid1, George Cordoyiannis1, Zdravko Kutnjak1
1Condensed Matter Physics Department, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland)
|February 9, 2024
Summary
Researchers explored mechanisms for critical behavior in nematic liquid crystals (NLCs). Nanoparticles (NPs) can induce critical points more efficiently under pressure-driven transitions than temperature changes.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Physical Chemistry
Background:
- Nematic liquid crystals (NLCs) exhibit complex phase transitions.
- Understanding critical behavior is key to controlling NLC properties.
Purpose of the Study:
- To theoretically investigate generic mechanisms establishing critical behavior in NLCs.
- To analyze the influence of nanoparticles (NPs) on these transitions.
Main Methods:
- Derivation of a scaled effective free energy expression.
- Theoretical study of order-disorder phase transitions.
- Analysis of NP-NLC mixtures.
Main Results:
- Identified linear coupling with the nematic order parameter as crucial for critical behavior.
- Demonstrated that pressure-driven transitions require lower NP concentrations for critical points compared to temperature-driven ones.
Conclusions:
- Effective free energy formulations can describe diverse mechanisms for critical behavior.
- Nanoparticles offer a tunable route to critical phenomena in NLCs, particularly under pressure.
