Hard Particle Theories

Masters, Andrew J.

doi:10.1002/9781118696316.ch4

Biaxial Nematic Liquid Crystals 2015

DOI: 10.1002/9781118696316.ch4

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Hard Particle Theories

Andrew J. Masters

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Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…However, in our recent work on freely rotating monodisperse HBPs within this range of particle biaxiality (θ = −0.0909), we only observed a transition to the Sm phase [10]. As unambiguously stressed by Masters, overlooking the formation of ordered phases could be perilous for a reliable theoretical description of the N B phase behaviour [18]. We add that employing a restricted-orientation model can also have a similar effect, as our theoretical predictions on freely rotating HBPs have recently established [10].…”

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confidence: 61%

Monte Carlo simulation of binary mixtures of hard colloidal cuboids

Patti

Cuetos

2017

Molecular Simulation

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We perform extensive Monte Carlo simulations to investigate the phase behaviour of colloidal suspensions of hard board-like particles (HBPs). While theories restricting particle orientation or ignoring higher ordered phases suggest the existence of a stable biaxial nematic phase, our recent simulation results on monodisperse systems indicate that this is not necessarily the case, even for particle shapes exactly in between prolate and oblate geometries, usually referred to as self-dual shape. Motivated by the potentially striking impact of incorporating biaxial ordering into display applications, we extend our investigation to bidisperse mixtures of short and long HBPs and analyse whether size dispersity can further enrich the phase behaviour of HBPs, eventually destabilise positionally ordered phases and thus favour the formation of the biaxial nematic phase. Not only do our results indicate that bidisperse mixtures of self-dual shaped HBPs cannot self-assemble into biaxial nematic phases, but they also show that these particles are not able to form uniaxial nematic phases either. This surprising behaviour is also observed in monodisperse systems. Additionally, bidisperse HBPs tend to phase separate in coexisting isotropic and smectic phases or, at relatively large pressures, in a smectic phase of mostly short HBPs and a smectic phase of mostly long HBPs. We conclude that limiting the particle orientational degrees of freedom or neglecting the presence of positionally ordered (smectic, columnar and crystal) phases can dramatically alter the phase behaviour of HBPs and unrealistically enlarge the region of stability of the biaxial nematic phase. Molecular Simulation paper˙V2colloidal particles with precise symmetry and directional interactions sparked the discovery of a collective behaviour, key for the synthesis of photonic crystals [2] and macroporous solids [3], that is not observed in atomic and molecular systems. Recognising this breakthrough has conferred to colloids a position in materials science in their own right [4]. Although current LC display technology is entirely based on molecular LCs, the appealing scenario of employing materials with high thermal stability, enhanced susceptibility to external fields and more accessible production costs, makes colloidal LCs excellent candidates for displays [5][6][7]. Additionally, and perhaps more interestingly, colloidal suspensions of board-like particles can form biaxial nematic (N B ) phases [8], whose existence, theoretically predicted by Freiser almost 50 years ago [9], is still an open question at the molecular scale. The intriguing prospect of manufacturing biaxial LCDs has been enfeebled by the difficulty of obtaining a stable molecular N B phase, especially at convenient temperatures for display applications. The experimental findings by Vroege and coworkers, who observed a remarkably stable N B phase in systems of polydisperse goethite particles, have provided renewed expectations and perhaps an indication on how, at the molecular scale, the stability...

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confidence: 61%

Monte Carlo simulation of binary mixtures of hard colloidal cuboids

Patti

Cuetos

2017

Molecular Simulation

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Biaxial nematic stability in the rod-plate mixture with a dopant: The restricted-orientation model on the 3rd virial level

Sokolova

Vlasov

Venediktova

2017

Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspect

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The Landau–de Gennes free energy expansion of a melt of V-shaped polymer molecules

Aliev

Ugolkova²,

Kuzminyh

2016

The Journal of Chemical Physics

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The phase behavior of a monodisperse melt of polymer molecules consisting of two rod-like segments joined at an angle α has been inspected within the Landau theory of phase transitions. The interactions between monomer units were assumed to be of the Maier-Saupe form. The Landau-de Gennes expansion of the free energy of the melt has been obtained up to the sixth order in powers of the nematic order parameter, the coefficients of this expansion have been calculated from the microscopic model of polymer molecule. The phase diagram contains the regions of stability of isotropic, prolate uniaxial, oblate uniaxial, and biaxial nematic phases. The isotropic-uniaxial nematic and uniaxial-biaxial nematic transitions are of the first and second order, respectively. We found two Landau points in the phase diagram at which continuous transition from biaxial nematic state to isotropic phase occurs.

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Hard Particle Theories

Cited by 4 publications

References 74 publications

Monte Carlo simulation of binary mixtures of hard colloidal cuboids

Monte Carlo simulation of binary mixtures of hard colloidal cuboids

Biaxial nematic stability in the rod-plate mixture with a dopant: The restricted-orientation model on the 3rd virial level

The Landau–de Gennes free energy expansion of a melt of V-shaped polymer molecules

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