Preliminary communication Photopyroelectric investigation of the thermal conductivity anisotropy in oriented liquid crystals

Abstract

Photopyroelectric measurements of heat transport parallel or perpendicular to the director have been carried out for compounds of the 4,4-dialkylazoxybenzene homologous series. A theoretical expression based on molecular length-width ratios predicts a thermal conductivity anisotropy ratio which is between 1.5 and 2 times larger than experimentally observed. However, the predicted order parameter temperature dependence seems to be consistent with the experimental data.