Effect of thickness of liquid crystalline layer on the thermotropic and thermodynamical properties of nematic-isotropic liquid and istropic liquid-nematic phase transitions

Abstract

In this work, effect of thickness of the liquid crystalline layer on the morphologic, thermotropic and thermodynamical properties of the nematic-isotropic liquid and isotropic liquid-nematic phase transitions in Shiff based liquid crystals has been investigated. The shift of temperatures of the nematic-isotropic liquid and isotropic liquidnematic phase transitions to the lower temperatures and the widening of linear and temperature widths of the heterophase regions of these phase transitions by the increase in the thickness of liquid crystalline layer have been found. The effect of thickness of liquid crystalline layer on morphologic, thermotropic and thermodynamical properties of liquid crystals under investigations is connected with change of interaction energy between liquid crystalline molecules and reference surfaces.