Fuller, Graham J (1979) Molecular studies of liquid crystals. University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.
Abstract
This thesis is concerned with the study of the molecular properties of liquid crystals using the techniques of dielectric relaxation and neutron scattering. A resume of the properties of liquid crystals 1s given in the first chapter. Chapter II then describes the effect on the microscopic relaxation times of using different dielectric relaxation equations to analyse anisotropic dielectric data. In Chapter III the rotational diffusion and the strong collision models, for molecular reorientation, are compared to see if they can explain the dielectric relaxation data for 4-heptyl-4'-cyanobiphenyl, Even though the rotational diffusion model is found to be superior it does not satisfactorily explain the dielectric dispersion for the perpendicular component and in Chapter IV the possible explanation for this discrepancy are considered. The rest of the thesis is concerned with neutron scattering from liquid crystals. In Chapter V a brief review oft he basic theory of neutron scattering is given. Next we discuss the intramolecular contribution to the coherent scattering cross-section. The temperature dependence of this enables us to distinguish between various molecular field theories of the nematic mesophase. In Chapter VII we investigate the importance of short range order on the intermolecular contribution to the coherent scattering for a model system. Finally we consider the effect the experimental time scale has on the calculated elastic incoherent structure factor.
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