Measurements of the specific heat and the static dielectric permittivity of heptyloxycyanobiphenyl (7OCB) confined to the 0.2 microm diameter parallel cylindrical pores of Anopore membranes in the isotropic phase and nematic mesophase, are presented. A comparison between the bulk and the confined 7OCB in treated and untreated pore wall surfaces using a chemical surfactant (HTBA) is performed. Both the treated and untreated membrane confinements seem to affect the nematic-to-isotropic phase transition by a downshift in transition temperature and some rounding at the specific-heat maximum, in a way similar to that which was earlier published for other liquid crystals confined in the same geometry. The static dielectric measurements clearly point out that untreated membrane confinement is axial, with the nematic director aligned parallel to the pore axis being homeotropic bulklike, i.e., with the nematic director aligned perpendicular to the electrode cell surfaces. After chemical surfactant treatment, the nematic director is constrained in a radial alignment being perpendicular to the pore walls. The dielectric measurements are revealed to be specially sensible to analyze the surface-induced nematic order due to the pore wall. The tricritical nature of the nematic-to-isotropic phase transition in bulk 7OCB as well as in treated and untreated Anopore confined geometries is discussed through both the specific heat and the static dielectric data.

The stable solid polymorphism of cyclooctanol (C 8 H 16 O, for short C 8-OH) is revealed to be a complex problem and only two stable solid phases, denoted on cooling from the liquid as phases I and II, are found using static ͑thermodynamic and x-ray diffraction͒ as well as dynamic ͑dielectric spectroscopy͒ experimental techniques. Both solid phases are known to exhibit glass transitions if they are cooled down fast enough to prevent transition to ordered crystalline states. Although glass transitions corresponding to both phases had been well documented by means of specific heat measurements, x-ray measurements constitute, as far as we know, the first evidence from the structural point of view. In addition, a great amount of dielectric works devoted to phase I and its glass transition, were published in the past but next to nothing relating to the dielectric properties of phase II and its glass transition. The nature of the disorder of phase II will be discussed.

Dielectric measurements are reported for liquid crystalline dimers consisting of two mesogenic groups joined through ether links by a flexible alkyl chain. Results are presented for the odd-symmetric dimer, α,ω-bis[(4-cyanobiphenyl)-4′-yloxy]undecane (BCB.O11), and the odd-asymmetric dimer, α-[(4-cyanobiphenyl)-4′-yloxy]-ω-(4-decylanilinebenzylidene-4′-oxy) nonane (CB.O9O.10). The real and imaginary parts of the electric permittivities of aligned samples were measured as functions of frequency over the range 102–109 Hz at temperatures throughout the nematic phase. Measurements were fitted as a function of frequency to the Havriliak–Negami function, and yielded relaxation times and dielectric strengths for the relaxations at each of the temperatures studied. The static dielectric anisotropy for both materials was positive. For BCB.O11, the parallel and perpendicular components of the permittivity exhibited one low frequency and one high frequency relaxation, while the parallel component of the permittivity for CB.O9O.10 showed three relaxations, which were well-separated in frequency. A generic model of liquid crystalline dimers based on mixtures of linear and bent conformers with the tetrahedral angle has been proposed [A. Ferrarini et al., Chem. Phys. Lett. 214, 409 (1993)]. This model is used to provide a qualitative interpretation of the dielectric measurements reported. To obtain a satisfactory explanation of the results, it is necessary to include additional conformers having either a hairpin shape or a bent shape with an angle of 180° minus the tetrahedral angle. The temperature dependence measured for the strengths of the dielectric relaxations is explained in terms of changes of the order parameter and changes in the relative probabilities of different shaped conformers.

We report experimental results on two bent-shaped mesogens showing the B1 phase. Contrary to the conventional B1 structures, we have found that our compounds display a clear electro-optic effect in this phase. Under the influence of a 100-Hz square-wave electric field of moderate amplitude, an increase of the birefringence is observed. However, no switching current is detected, indicating that the materials remain antiferroelectric. For high enough fields, a drastic change in the texture occurs. This change is a phase transition to a B2 phase, and shows the typical antiferroelectric switching of this phase. The induced B2 phase has been identified to be homochiral. Upon removal of the field, the B1 structure is recovered. Our study is based on differential scanning calorimetry, x-ray, electro-optics, polarization reversal, and dielectric measurements.