Solid-state 13C NMR study of cholesteric liquid crystals

J Phys Chem B. 2013 Dec 19;117(50):16325-35. doi: 10.1021/jp408683j. Epub 2013 Nov 26.

Abstract

We investigated the structural behavior of cholesteric liquid crystals of 4-(hexyloxy)-4'-cyanobiphenyl (6OCB) in an 11.7 T magnetic field by solid-state (13)C nuclear magnetic resonance. Five 6OCB cholesteric liquid crystal systems were prepared with 4-methoxyphenyl 3,4-O-isopropylidene-2,6-bis-O-(4-methylbenzoyl)-β-d-galactopyranoside (CR), in which 6OCB was doped with 0.51, 1.00, 2.34, 5.60, and 6.47 mol % CR, giving products with helical twisting powers (HTPs) of 0.28, 0.54, 1.27, 3.05, and 3.52 μm(-1), respectively. Analyses of the alignment-induced shifts showed that the liquid crystals directors in pure 6OCB and 6OCB doped with 0.51 and 1.00 mol % CR become aligned with the 11.7 T magnetic field direction. However, 6OCB doped with 2.34, 5.60, and 6.47 mol % CR retained their cholesteric structures when the magnetic field was applied. The critical HTP value for resisting realignment by magnetic field was estimated to be approximately 1.27 μm(-1). A biaxiality of the phase was partially considered during spectral simulations, although the molecular shape of 6OCB can be defined as cylinderical when it is rotating rapidly. Our current understanding is that the order parameters in the cholesteric structures are not uniform; i.e., the molecular directors already aligned almost perpendicular to the magnetic field are significantly perturbed by the external field.