Presidential Young Investigators Award: Thermodynamics and Transport Properties of Liquid-Crystalline Mixtures - Theory and Experiment

液晶的热力学和输运性质 混合物-理论与实验 使用液晶（LC），特别是它们的混合物， 广泛应用于许多技术领域， 生物系统中它们的存在是广泛的。 尽管 它们的重要性，对它们的热力学的理解， 运输性能非常差，特别是在 微观水平。 在本研究中，PI将使用 统计力学理论（包括组成空间 DFT以及传统的配置空间DFT）， 分子模拟和实验来研究动力学， LC物质在存在下的热力学行为 各种类型的溶质。 这些研究旨在 满足几个目标，包括：（1）探索极限 （2）建立一套完整的 LC混合物行为的实验数据;（3） 通过与 实验数据;（4）提供分子水平 了解LC混合物的行为， 这是任何其他方式都无法实现的。

Thermodynamics and transport properties of liquid-crystalline mixtures - Theory and Experiment Liquid crystals (LC), especially their mixtures, are used extensively in many technological applications, and in biological systems their presence is widespread. Despite their importance, an understanding of their thermodynamics and transport properties is very poor, especially at the microscopic level. In this research the PI will use statistical mechanical theories (both the composition-space DFT as well as the traditional configuration-space DFT), molecular simulation, and experiment to study the dynamics and thermodynamic behavior of LC substances in the presence of various types of solutes. These studies are designed to satisfy several goals, including: (1) to explore the limits of both types of DFT; (2) to produce a comprehensive set of experimental data on the behavior of LC mixtures; (3) to validate some model potentials through comparison with the experimental data; and (4) to provide a molecular-level understanding of the behavior of LC mixtures to a degree which cannot be achieved by any other means.