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  • Title: Isotropic-nematic transition in liquid-crystalline elastomers: lattice model with quenched disorder.
    Author: Selinger JV, Ratna BR.
    Journal: Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys; 2004 Oct; 70(4 Pt 1):041707. PubMed ID: 15600425.
    Abstract:
    When liquid-crystalline elastomers pass through the isotropic-nematic transition, the orientational order parameter and the elastic strain vary rapidly but smoothly, without the expected first-order discontinuity. This broadening of the phase transition is an important issue for applications of liquid-crystalline elastomers as actuators or artificial muscles. To understand this behavior, we develop a lattice model of liquid-crystalline elastomers, with local directors coupled to a global strain variable. In this model, we can consider either random-bond disorder (representing chemical heterogeneity) or random-field disorder (representing heterogeneous local stresses). Monte Carlo simulations show that both types of disorder cause the first-order isotropic-nematic transition to broaden into a smooth crossover, consistent with the experiments. For random-field disorder, the smooth crossover into an ordered state can be attributed to the long-range elastic interaction.
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