The temperature and concentration dependence of helical pitch in the mixtures of antiferroelectric compounds with the opposite helical twist sense

Abstract

The temperature dependence of helical pitch for members of an homologous series of orthoconic antiferroelectric compounds (3FmHPhF) and their bicomponent mixtures (m = 3 and 5 as well as m = 3 and 7) has been measured by the method of selective light reflection. The compounds have the same chiral centre but they have different temperature dependence of the helical pitch as well as the helical twisting sense in SmC*_A phase: right for member m = 3, left for m = 7, and both right and left for m = 5. For this last homologue, the change of twisting sense is connected with the appearance of the unwound structure. Concentration dependence on helical pitch was investigated in the mixtures. It was demonstrated that it is possible to obtain mixtures with desirable high pitch and also with totally unwound structure.

Keywords:

• helical pitch
• helix sense inversion
• orthoconic antiferroelectric phase
• unwound structure

Acknowledgements

This work was carried out under PBW-933 and POIG.01.03.01-14-016/08 grants. The authors thank Professor Wojciech Kuczyński for fruitful discussions.