DTA, X-ray and dielectric relaxation studies of 14CB at atmospheric and elevated pressures

Abstract

The pressure-temperature phase diagram of 4′-tetradecyl-4-cyanobiphenyl (14CB) up to 220 MPa (2.2 kbar) and between 320–400 K was established using DTA. The temperature range of the smectic A (SmA) phase slightly increases with pressure. The layer spacing d at 1 atm was determined as a function of temperature using X-ray diffraction. It was related to the molecular length l by the ratio d/l ˜ 1.4. The dielectric relaxation measurements in the isotropic and smectic Ad phases of 14CB at 1 atm were performed in the frequency range 10 kHz-3 GHz. Contributions from both principal rotational motions, i.e. around the short and long molecular axes, were separated. The relaxation measurements under high pressure in the SmA phase covered the low frequency process. The longitudinal relaxation time τ1, characterizing the molecular reorientations around the short axis, was analysed with respect to the pressure and temperature dependences, giving activation volumes, Δ# V = RT (∂ ln τ1 / ∂p)T, and activation enthalpies, Δ# H = RT(∂ ln τ1 / ∂T -1)p, respectively. Surprisingly, all the activation quantities characterizing the rotational motions of 14CB molecules under different conditions are nearly the same as those determined recently for the much shorter homologue, 8CB. This indicates that the 14CB molecule is in fact relatively short due to conformational motions of the alkyl tail.