Evidence for Different Liquid Crystal Mesophases in Confinement by Dielectric Spectroscopy

Abstract

Dielectric measurements confirm existence of the characteristic feature of the nematic phase under examined geometrical restrictions. The dynamics of the relaxation processes present in the bulk antiferroelectric liquid crystal changes noticeably under Anopore confinement. Analysis of the non-linear variation of the temperature dependence of the dielectric strength at the SmA-SmC* phase transition prove the existence of the tilted smectic phase in Anopore's cylindrical channels.

Keywords:

• Antiferroelectric phase
• confinement
• dielectric relaxation
• ferroelectric phase
• molecular and collective relaxation processes
• nematic phase
• porous membranes

Acknowledgment

The author wish to thank Prof. Dr. Jan Thoen for the hospitality and many fruitful scientific discussions during the senior postdoctoral fellowship in the K. U. Leuven.