Characterization of the S_c Phase In a Liquid Crystal by Dielectric Relaxation

Abstract

The authors present a study of the dielectric relaxation of one compound with a S_c-N phase transition:Octyloxyphenyl hexyloxybenzoate.

The dielectric spectra observed clearly show that the S_c, phase does not modify the reorientation motion of the molecules around their transversal axis. In the same way, they show that the rotational motion of the molecules around their longitudinal axis exists in S_c phase as well as in nematic phase. The use of a multi-domain model for the S_c, phase enabled the authors to obtain the order of magnitude of the tilt angle of the molecules in the smectic layers. This angle is compared to the one yielded by the X-ray diffraction and a satisfactory agreement is obtained for this compound.