Abstract
The isotropic-nematic phase transition of side-chain polymer liquid crystals is intrinsically a weak first-order transition with a biphasic region spread over a wide temperature interval. In the presence of high magnetic fields we find the transition to become a strong first order. The biphasic region shrinks its temperature window as larger magnetic fields are applied, until it completely disappears and the transition completes at a fixed temperature. We interpret this behavior as a consequence of the nonlinear coupling of the magnetic field to the system free energy, via the suppression of the order fluctuations in the nematic mesophase at the transition crossing.
- Received 14 August 2002
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.67.050701
©2003 American Physical Society