A Pressure Induced Reentrant Cholesteric Phase in a Ternary System of Cholesteryl N-Alkanoates Light Reflection Measurements in Mixtures of Cholesteryl Propionate, -Nonanoate and -Tetradecanoate Up to 3000 Bars

Abstract

A pressure induced reentrant behaviour of a nematic l iquid crystal was first shown by Cladis¹. For cholesteric liquid crystals such behaviour could be observed only at atmospheric pressure^3,4,5,6. With one exception⁷ (reentrant nematic at atmospheric pressure) all systems investigated until now - nematics as well as cholesterics - have at least one compound with a terminal-polar group.

In the light reflection measurements up to 3000 bars in a ternary mixture of cholesteryl propionate, -nonanoate and -tetradecanoate reported here, we show that liquid crystals without polar end groups can show a pressure induced reentrant behaviour as well.