Excluded Volume and Electrostatic Interactions in Liquid Crystals

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9412701 Samulski This research is concerned with characterization and quantification of intermolecular forces in liquid crystals (LCs). The ultimate goal is to understand the properties of liquid crystals in terms of their molecular structural features to allow rational designs for new mesogens optimized for specific applications (high contrast ratios, rapid switching, high spontaneous polarization, etc.). This is achieved through carefully constructed experiments and associated modeling of the experimental findings with the intention of deriving a general formulation of molecular ordering in LCs in terms of an orientational potential. Knowledge of orientational potentials allows one to construct the molecular orientation distribution and thereby calculate a molecule's order tensor, and compute and correlate thermodynamic properties of mesogens with molecular structure. %%% This project is concerned with the measurement of molecular properties in liquid crystals (LCs) so that improved LCs can be engineered for new display applications such as high definition TV. This is achieved by studying the behavior of selected solutes dissolved in LC solvents in order to clarify the importance of the different kinds of intermolecular interactions that contribute to the electro optic responses of these unusual fluids. The goal is an increased understanding of the molecular origins of important physical and technologically significant characteristics of liquid crystals (e.g., birefringence, spontaneous electric polarization) with the ulterior motive of designing more responsive and higher contrast materials for LC displays.