A ferroelectric liquid crystal, S-2-methylbutyl 4-n-octanoyloxybiphenyl-4′-carboxylate, undergoing a characteristic polarization inversion, has been studied by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). In addition to the discontinuities at the first-order isotropic and recrystallization phase transitions, the nuclear magnetic relaxation revealed a weak anomaly attributed to the soft mode at the Sm-A-Sm-C* liquid crystalline phase transition. Besides, the polarization inversion in the Sm-C* phase was manifested in the nuclear magnetic relaxation as well as in the NMR lineshape and in the temperature-dependent relative peak positions of the NMR line components, indicating that the polarization inversion is associated with a conformational transition.
Published in:
Applied Physics Letters
(Volume:96
,
Issue:
9
)
Date of Publication:
Mar 2010
- Page(s):
-
092903
-
092903-3
- ISSN :
-
0003-6951
- Digital Object Identifier :
-
10.1063/1.3337101
- Date of Current Version :
-
08 March 2010
- Issue Date :
-
Mar 2010