A microscopic model considering the effect of molecular biaxiality on ferroelectric ordering of liquid crystalline smectic C∗ phases

Abstract

On the basis of a mean-field approach, a microscopic model is presented to explain some ferroelectric properties of induced smectic C∗ phases of chiral dipolar guest molecules in an achiral smectic C host phase. The molecular biaxiality of the chiral dopants has been taken into account, resulting in a polar and quadrupolar ordering of the molecular short axes in the rotational distribution function of the guest molecules. This model explains the dependence of the magnitude and sign of the spontaneous polarization on the molecular structure of a series of cyclo-hexanone derivatives used as chiral dopants, as well as the effect of a local field at higher dopant concentrations.