Rev.Adv.Mater.Sci. (RAMS)
No 1, Vol. 23, 2010, pages 37-41

THE DYNAMICS OF 5CB MESOGENE MOLECULES BETWEEN GRAPHITE WALLS - AN MD STUDY

A. Dawid and W. Gwizdała

Abstract

Classical molecular dynamics simulations were performed for a thin layer of 4-n-pentyl-4'-cyanobiphenyl (5CB) molecules confined between two parallel graphite sheets. Liquid crystal (LC) molecules were treated as rigid bodies interacting via the van der Waals potential with the applied two-dimensional periodic boundary condition. The distance between graphite plains was adjusted in the range from 2.2 to 3.0 nm. The dynamics of the thin layer of 5CB molecules at room temperatures was investigated by calculating the translational and angular velocity autocorrelation functions and their Fourier transforms. The dielectric properties of the liquid crystal molecules were studied by calculating the dipole moment autocorrelation function and its cosine Fourier transform. The simulations were done at wide range of temperatures, from T = 100K to T = 400K. We have found a strong dependence of the dynamics of mesogenic molecules on the temperature. Moreover, the more space between the graphite walls, the higher is the dielectric loss of the mesogenic layer.

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