Optical rotatory power of different phases of an antiferroelectric liquid crystal and implications for models of structure

Abstract

The investigation of the antiferroelectic liquid crystal (AFLC) was presented. The crystal was found to possess different helical smectic phases identified through a texture under cross-polarizers with a homeotropic alignment of the AFLC. The optical rotatory power (ORP) measured demonstrated a characteristic change at the phase transitions. The ORP measurements explained the ability of the method for finding phase transitions between several phases.