The mechanisms of orientational order in nematic liquid crystals

We have analyzed the NMR spectra of a series of 19 di-halobenzenes having Cs or C₂v symmetry dissolved in a special mixture of nematic liquid crystals, i.e., 55 wt% 1132/EBBA-d₂. This mixture has the unique feature that dideuterium dissolved in it experiences a zero average electric field gradient. Therefore one can assume that for this mixture the contribution to the molecular order due to the interaction between the average electric field gradient and the quadrupole moment of the molecule can be neglected. It has been suggested that the orientational order also depends on the size and shape of the solutes and a model has been used to calculate the order parameters. Another model relates the ordering to the molecular polarizability anisotropy. A description of the ordering of molecules having Cs symmetry requires 3 independent order parameters and thus provides a strong test for the different models of orientational order. Comparisons are made between our experimentally determined order parameters and the theoretical values obtained using the size and shape, and the polarizability models. Very good agreement is obtained for the size and shape model. However, it is found that any mechanism, involving a molecular property which is approximately bond additive, can not predict the differences found between the ortho- and meta-dihalobenzenes. Consequently, a poor agreement results from the polarizability model when a bond-additive scheme is used to calculate the molecular polarizability. Further investigation of the correlation between order parameters and solute molecules suggests that the molecular shape dominates the orientational behavior.Science, Faculty ofChemistry, Department ofGraduat