--- trunk/tengDissertation/LiquidCrystal.tex 2006/04/03 18:07:54 2685 +++ trunk/tengDissertation/LiquidCrystal.tex 2006/06/09 02:41:58 2839 @@ -2,8 +2,212 @@ \section{\label{liquidCrystalSection:introduction}Introduction} +Long range orientational order is one of the most fundamental +properties of liquid crystal mesophases. This orientational +anisotropy of the macroscopic phases originates in the shape +anisotropy of the constituent molecules. Among these anisotropy +mesogens, rod-like (calamitic) and disk-like molecules have been +exploited in great detail in the last two decades\cite{Huh2004}. +Typically, these mesogens consist of a rigid aromatic core and one +or more attached aliphatic chains. For short chain molecules, only +nematic phases, in which positional order is limited or absent, can +be observed, because the entropy of mixing different parts of the +mesogens is paramount to the dispersion interaction. In contrast, +formation of the one dimension lamellar sematic phase in rod-like +molecules with sufficiently long aliphatic chains has been reported, +as well as the segregation phenomena in disk-like molecules. + +Recently, the banana-shaped or bent-core liquid crystal have became +one of the most active research areas in mesogenic materials and +supramolecular chemistry\cite{Niori1996, Link1997, Pelzl1999}. +Unlike rods and disks, the polarity and biaxiality of the +banana-shaped molecules allow the molecules organize into a variety +of novel liquid crystalline phases which show interesting material +properties. Of particular interest is the spontaneous formation of +macroscopic chiral layers from achiral banana-shaped molecules, +where polar molecule orientational ordering is shown within the +layer plane as well as the tilted arrangement of the molecules +relative to the polar axis. As a consequence of supramolecular +chirality, the spontaneous polarization arises in ferroelectric (FE) +and antiferroelectic (AF) switching of smectic liquid crystal +phases, demonstrating some promising applications in second-order +nonlinear optical devices. The most widely investigated mesophase +formed by banana-shaped moleculed is the $\text{B}_2$ phase, which +is also referred to as $\text{SmCP}$\cite{Link1997}. Of the most +important discover in this tilt lamellar phase is the four distinct +packing arrangements (two conglomerates and two macroscopic +racemates), which depend on the tilt direction and the polar +direction of the molecule in adjacent layer (see +Fig.~\ref{LCFig:SMCP}). + +\begin{figure} +\centering +\includegraphics[width=\linewidth]{smcp.eps} +\caption[] +{} +\label{LCFig:SMCP} +\end{figure} + +Many liquid crystal synthesis experiments suggest that the +occurrence of polarity and chirality strongly relies on the +molecular structure and intermolecular interaction\cite{Reddy2006}. +From a theoretical point of view, it is of fundamental interest to +study the structural properties of liquid crystal phases formed by +banana-shaped molecules and understand their connection to the +molecular structure, especially with respect to the spontaneous +achiral symmetry breaking. As a complementary tool to experiment, +computer simulation can provide unique insight into molecular +ordering and phase behavior, and hence improve the development of +new experiments and theories. In the last two decades, all-atom +models have been adopted to investigate the structural properties of +smectic arrangements\cite{Cook2000, Lansac2001}, as well as other +bulk properties, such as rotational viscosity and flexoelectric +coefficients\cite{Cheung2002, Cheung2004}. However, due to the +limitation of time scale required for phase transition and the +length scale required for representing bulk behavior, +models\cite{Perram1985, Gay1981}, which are based on the observation +that liquid crystal order is exhibited by a range of non-molecular +bodies with high shape anisotropies, became the dominant models in +the field of liquid crystal phase behavior. Previous simulation +studies using hard spherocylinder dimer model\cite{Camp1999} produce +nematic phases, while hard rod simulation studies identified a +Landau point\cite{Bates2005}, at which the isotropic phase undergoes +a direct transition to the biaxial nematic, as well as some possible +liquid crystal phases\cite{Lansac2003}. Other anisotropic models +using Gay-Berne(GB) potential, which produce interactions that favor +local alignment, give the evidence of the novel packing arrangements +of bent-core molecules\cite{Memmer2002,Orlandi2006}. + +Experimental studies by Levelut {\it et al.}~\cite{Levelut1981} +revealed that terminal cyano or nitro groups usually induce +permanent longitudinal dipole moments, which affect the phase +behavior considerably. A series of theoretical studies also drawn +equivalent conclusions. Monte Carlo studies of the GB potential with +fixed longitudinal dipoles (i.e. pointed along the principal axis of +rotation) were shown to enhance smectic phase +stability~\cite{Berardi1996,Satoh1996}. Molecular simulation of GB +ellipsoids with transverse dipoles at the terminus of the molecule +also demonstrated that partial striped bilayer structures were +developed from the smectic phase ~\cite{Berardi1996}. More +significant effects have been shown by including multiple +electrostatic moments. Adding longitudinal point quadrupole moments +to rod-shaped GB mesogens, Withers \textit{et al} induced tilted +smectic behaviour in the molecular system~\cite{Withers2003}. Thus, +it is clear that many liquid-crystal forming molecules, specially, +bent-core molecules, could be modeled more accurately by +incorporating electrostatic interaction. + +In this chapter, we consider system consisting of banana-shaped +molecule represented by three rigid GB particles with one or two +point dipoles at different location. Performing a series of +molecular dynamics simulations, we explore the structural properties +of tilted smectic phases as well as the effect of electrostatic +interactions. + \section{\label{liquidCrystalSection:model}Model} +A typical banana-shaped molecule consists of a rigid aromatic +central bent unit with several rod-like wings which are held +together by some linking units and terminal chains (see +Fig.~\ref{LCFig:BananaMolecule}). In this work, each banana-shaped +mesogen has been modeled as a rigid body consisting of three +equivalent prolate ellipsoidal GB particles. The GB interaction +potential used to mimic the apolar characteristics of liquid crystal +molecules takes the familiar form of Lennard-Jones function with +orientation and position dependent range ($\sigma$) and well depth +($\epsilon$) parameters. The potential between a pair of three-site +banana-shaped molecules $a$ and $b$ is given by +\begin{equation} +V_{ab}^{GB} = \sum\limits_{i \in a,j \in b} {V_{ij}^{GB} }. +\end{equation} +Every site-site interaction can can be expressed as, +\begin{equation} +V_{ij}^{GB} = 4\epsilon (\hat u_i ,\hat u_j ,\hat r_{ij} )\left[ +{\left( {\frac{{\sigma _0 }}{{r_{ij} - \sigma (\hat u_i ,\hat u_j +,\hat r_{ij} )}}} \right)^{12} - \left( {\frac{{\sigma _0 +}}{{r_{ij} - \sigma (\hat u_i ,\hat u_j ,\hat r_{ij} )}}} \right)^6 +} \right] \label{LCEquation:gb} +\end{equation} +where $\hat u_i,\hat u_j$ are unit vectors specifying the +orientation of two molecules $i$ and $j$ separated by intermolecular +vector $r_{ij}$. $\hat r_{ij}$ is the unit vector along the +intermolecular vector. A schematic diagram of the orientation +vectors is shown in Fig.\ref{LCFigure:GBScheme}. The functional form +for $\sigma$ is given by +\begin{equation} +\sigma (\hat u_i ,\hat u_i ,\hat r_{ij} ) = \sigma _0 \left[ {1 - +\frac{\chi }{2}\left( {\frac{{(\hat r_{ij} \cdot \hat u_i + \hat +r_{ij} \cdot \hat u_j )^2 }}{{1 + \chi \hat u_i \cdot \hat u_j }} ++ \frac{{(\hat r_{ij} \cdot \hat u_i - \hat r_{ij} \cdot \hat u_j +)^2 }}{{1 - \chi \hat u_i \cdot \hat u_j }}} \right)} \right]^{ - +\frac{1}{2}}, +\end{equation} +where the aspect ratio of the particles is governed by shape +anisotropy parameter +\begin{equation} +\chi = \frac{{(\sigma _e /\sigma _s )^2 - 1}}{{(\sigma _e /\sigma +_s )^2 + 1}}. +\label{LCEquation:chi} +\end{equation} +Here, $\sigma_ s$ and $\sigma_{e}$ refer to the side-by-side breadth +and the end-to-end length of the ellipsoid, respectively. The well +depth parameters takes the form +\begin{equation} +\epsilon (\hat u_i ,\hat u_j ,\hat r_{ij} ) = \epsilon _0 \epsilon +^v (\hat u_i ,\hat u_j )\epsilon '^\mu (\hat u_i ,\hat u_j ,\hat +r_{ij} ) +\end{equation} +where $\epsilon_{0}$ is a constant term and +\begin{equation} +\epsilon (\hat u_i ,\hat u_j ) = \frac{1}{{\sqrt {1 - \chi ^2 (\hat +u_i \cdot \hat u_j )^2 } }} +\end{equation} +and +\begin{equation} +\epsilon '(\hat u_i ,\hat u_j ,\hat r_{ij} ) = 1 - \frac{{\chi +'}}{2}\left[ {\frac{{(\hat r_{ij} \cdot \hat u_i + \hat r_{ij} +\cdot \hat u_j )^2 }}{{1 + \chi '\hat u_i \cdot \hat u_j }} + +\frac{{(\hat r_{ij} \cdot \hat u_i - \hat r_{ij} \cdot \hat u_j +)^2 }}{{1 - \chi '\hat u_i \cdot \hat u_j }}} \right] +\end{equation} +where the well depth anisotropy parameter $\chi '$ depends on the +ratio between \textit{end-to-end} well depth $\epsilon _e$ and +\textit{side-by-side} well depth $\epsilon_s$, +\begin{equation} +\chi ' = \frac{{1 - (\epsilon _e /\epsilon _s )^{1/\mu} }}{{1 + +(\epsilon _e /\epsilon _s )^{1/\mu} }}. +\end{equation} + +\begin{figure} +\centering +\includegraphics[width=\linewidth]{banana.eps} +\caption[]{} \label{LCFig:BananaMolecule} +\end{figure} + +%\begin{figure} +%\centering +%\includegraphics[width=\linewidth]{bananGB.eps} +%\caption[]{} \label{LCFigure:BananaGB} +%\end{figure} + +\begin{figure} +\centering +\includegraphics[width=\linewidth]{gb_scheme.eps} +\caption[]{Schematic diagram showing definitions of the orientation +vectors for a pair of Gay-Berne molecules} +\label{LCFigure:GBScheme} +\end{figure} + +To account for the permanent dipolar interactions, there should be +an electrostatic interaction term of the form +\begin{equation} +V_{ab}^{dp} = \sum\limits_{i \in a,j \in b} {\frac{1}{{4\pi +\epsilon _{fs} }}\left[ {\frac{{\mu _i \cdot \mu _j }}{{r_{ij}^3 }} +- \frac{{3\left( {\mu _i \cdot r_{ij} } \right)\left( {\mu _i \cdot +r_{ij} } \right)}}{{r_{ij}^5 }}} \right]} +\end{equation} +where $\epsilon _{fs}$ is the permittivity of free space. + \section{\label{liquidCrystalSection:methods}Methods} \section{\label{liquidCrystalSection:resultDiscussion}Results and Discussion}