Near-continuous isotropic-nematic transition in compressed rod-like liquid crystal based nanocolloid

Landau-de Gennes mean-field model predicts the discontinuous transition for the isotropic - nematic (I-N) transition, associated with uniaxial ordering and a quadrupolar order parameter in three dimensions. This report shows pressure-related dielectric studies for rod-like nematogenic pentylcyanobiphenyl (5CB) and its nano -colloids with BaTiO3 nanoparticles. The scan of the dielectric constant revealed the near-continuous I-N phase transition in the compressed nanocolloid with a tiny amount of nanoparticles (x = 0.1%). For the nematic phase in 5CB and its x = 1% nanocolloid the enormous values of the dielectric constant and the bending-type, long-range pretransitional behavior were detected. The impact of prenematic fluctuations was also noted for the ionic-related contribution to dielectric permittivity in the isotropic liquid phase. For the high -frequency relaxation domain, this impact was tested for the primary relaxation time pressure evolution and the translational-orientational decoupling.

Automated summary

The Landau-de Gennes mean-field model predicts a discontinuous transition in the isotropic-nematic phase transition, characterized by uniaxial ordering and a quadrupolar order parameter in three dimensions. This study investigates the pressure-related dielectric properties of rod-like nematogenic pentylcyanobiphenyl (5CB) and its nano-colloids with BaTiO3 nanoparticles. The dielectric constant scan reveals a near-continuous I-N phase transition in the compressed nanocolloid with a small amount of nanoparticles (x = 0.1%). The nematic phase in 5CB and its x = 1% nanocolloid exhibit high dielectric constants and bending-type, long-range pretransitional behavior.