Abstract
Bulk heptyloxybenzylidene butylaniline (7O.4) undergoes first order nematic (N)-isotropic (I), nematic-smectic A (SmA), and smectic C (SmC)-crystal G(CrG) transitions as well as a mean-field second order SmA-SmC transition. The dispersion of 70A diameter hydrophobic silica aerosil particles in 7O.4 leads to doubling and significant temperature shifts for all three first order transitions, as determined with a.c. calorimetry. The SmA-SmC heat capacity peak merely shifts in position while remaining a single sharp Landau feature with an amplitude that decreases as the aerosil density increases. The behaviour of three 7O.4 + hydrophobic aerosil samples is discussed and compared to that of one 7O.4 + hydrophilic aerosil and previously reported results for 7O.4 + aerogel and 4O.8 + aerosil samples.
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