Orientational order and polarizability of molecules in a nematic liquid crystal

Abstract

The influence of the orientational order of molecules in a nematic liquid crystal on the mean value and anisotropy Δγ of the molecular polarizability has been studied in the framework of the molecular sta� tistical approach with allowance for the perturbation of the electronic structure of molecules due to the change in the conformation of their aromatic core and intermolecular interactions. Experimental depen� dences of and Δγ on the molecular orientational order parameter S have been derived, and their specific features for the known objects have been explained. The possibility of separating the contributions of opposite signs to the dependence Δγ(S) due to the change in the conformation of molecules and intermolecular inter� actions has been shown using nematic MBBA as an example.