Metastable, ordered solids of rod-like molecules quenched from their liquids at far-from-equilibrium conditions: Phonon spectra of 4-n-octyl- and 4-n-dodecyl-4′-cyanobiphenyl

Abstract

We report low-frequency Raman spectra of the title compounds in their metastable solid state quenched rapidly from the high-temperature liquid. The phonon-like spectra indicate crystal-like order superposed on a vibrational density-of-states background. The results imply ‘‘order through fluctuation’’ effects via autocatalytic and inhibitory growth.