Changes in the Thermodynamic Parameters of an Achiral Liquid Crystalline Material Due to Li Ion Beam Irradiation

Abstract

AbstractEnergetic ion beam radiations produced in accelerators have been widely used for the modifications of materials. Sometimes the properties of the irradiated materials are improved and in other cases the materials are deteriorated. The damages caused by irradiation are responsible for the changes in materialistic properties of the irradiated materials. The nature of these changes depends on the type of energy, ion and fluence (ions∕cm2) of irradiation. Therefore, it becomes important to study the effect of Li ion beam radiation on different properties of materials. In view of the above, Li ion beam irradiation-induced effects in the thermodynamic parameters of liquid crystalline material 4-n (heptyloxy) benzoic acid (HOBA) have been investigated in this study. The materials were irradiated in their crystalline phase (at room temperature) by Li ion beam of different fluences ranging from 1010 to 1013 ions/cm2. The pure as well as the irradiated material has phase sequence of I–N–Cr. The pure and irradiated materials were explored using differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The DSC studies of the pure and irradiated samples show that all the transition temperatures of the irradiated materials are reduced as compared to those of the pure material.KeywordsThermodynamic parametersLiquid crystalsLi ion beam irradiation