Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-22-1998

Abstract

A phase diagram of a mixture consisting of nematic and smectic liquid crystals has been calculated self-consistently by combining Flory-Huggins (FH) theory for isotropic mixing and Maier-Saupe-McMillan (MSM) theory for smectic-A ordering. However, the MSM theory can be deduced to the original Maier-Saupe (MS) theory for nematic ordering. To describe the phase transitions involving induced smectic phase and nematic + smectic equilibrium, two nematic and two smectic order parameters for the nematic/smectic mixtures have been coupled through the normalized partition function and the orientation distribution function. Self-consistent numerical solution has been sought in establishing nematic/smectic phase diagrams involving (i) phase separation between nematic and smectic liquid crystals and (ii) occurrence of induced smectic in a nematic/smectic mixture. The predictive capability of this combined FH/MSM theory has been tested critically with a reported phase diagram of a nematic/smectic liquid-crystal mixture and also with our experimental phase diagram of a mixture consisting of a nematic side-on side-chain liquid-crystalline polymer and a smectic low molar mass liquid crystal. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.

Publication Title

Journal of Chemical Physics

Volume

108

Issue

8

First Page

3249

Last Page

3255

Required Publisher's Statement

Copyright 1998 American Institute of Physics. The original published version of this article may be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.475721.

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