The phase behavior of a binary mixture of rodlike and disclike mesogens: Monte Carlo simulation, theory, and experiment

Galindo, A., Haslam, A.J., Varga, S., Jackson, G., Vanakaras, A.G., Photinos, D.J. and Dunmur, D.A. (2003) The phase behavior of a binary mixture of rodlike and disclike mesogens: Monte Carlo simulation, theory, and experiment. Journal of Chemical Physics, 119 (10), 5216-5225. (doi:10.1063/1.1598432).

Abstract

The phase behavior of a binary mixture of rodlike and disclike hard molecules is studied using Monte Carlo NVT (constant number of particles N, volume V, and temperature T) computer simulation. The rods are modeled as hard spherocylinders of aspect ratio L-HSC/D-HSC=5, and the discs as hard cut spheres of aspect ratio L-CS/D-CS=0.12. The diameter ratio D-CS/D-HSC=3.62 is chosen such that the molecular volumes of the two particles are equal. The starting configuration in the simulations is a mixed isotropic state. The phase diagram is mapped by changing the overall density of the system. At low densities stabilization of the isotropic phase relative to the ordered states is seen on mixing, and at high densities nematic-columnar and smectic A-columnar phase coexistence is observed. Biaxiality in the nematic phase is not seen. The phase diagram of the mixture is also calculated using the second virial theory of Onsager for nematic ordering, together with the scaling of Parsons and Lee to take into account the higher virial coefficients. The disc-disc and rod-disc excluded volumes are evaluated numerically using the exact overlap expressions, and the lower-order end-effects are incorporated. The exact rod-rod excluded volume is known analytically. In the case of the theoretical calculations, which are limited to translationally disordered phases, coexistence between two uniaxial nematic phases is predicted, as well as the stabilization of the disc-rich isotropic phases. As found in the simulation, biaxial nematic phases are not predicted to be stable. The phase equilibria of an experimental system is also reported which exhibits a behavior close to the system studied by computer simulation. As in the model mixtures, this system exhibits a marked destabilization of the ordered phases on mixing, while nematic-columnar demixing is observed at lower temperatures (the higher-density states).

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