Abstract
A high-resolution differential ac free-standing film calorimeter has been constructed in our laboratories. We have employed this unique calorimeter to investigate the evolution of the temperature dependence of heat-capacity anomalies through the smectic-A-hexatic-B-crystal-E transition sequence of one liquid crystal compound as the film thickness is reduced from a few hundred to just three molecular layers. The existence of free surfaces in the free-standing liquid-crystal films has a very strong effect on the development of the molecular order through the smectic-A-hexatic-B transition and other unexpected results related to the crystal-E order.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 9-20 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals Science and Technology. Section A. Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals |
| Volume | 212 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Feb 1 1992 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The 750BC sample for this work was provided by J.W. Goodby. We have enjoyed stimulating discussions of this work with R. Pindak, J.T. Ho, D.R. Nelson, and P.S. Pershan. R.G. and T.S. would like to acknowledge the support of an IBM fellowship and a Department of Education fellowship, respectively. This work was partially supported by the Graduate School, University of Minnesota and the National Science Foundation (Solid State Chemistry Program) Grants No. DMR-89-19334.
Copyright:
Copyright 2015 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
Keywords
- free-standing films
- heat capacity
- phase transition
- smectic-A-hexatic-B