Abstract
Recent experiments indicate that doping low concentrations of bent-core molecules into calamitic smectic solvents can induce anticlinic and biaxial smectic phases. We have carried out Monte Carlo simulations of mixtures of rodlike molecules (hard spherocylinders with length/breadth ratio ) and bow-shaped molecules (hard spherocylinder dimers with length/breadth ratio or 2.5 and opening angle ). We find that a low concentration ( ) of dimers induces anticlinic ( ) ordering in an untilted smectic ( ) phase for . For , no tilted phases are induced. However, with decreasing we observe a sharp transition from intralamellar nanophase segregation (bow-shaped molecules segregated within smectic layers) to interlamellar nanophase segregation (bow-shaped molecules concentrated between smectic layers) near .
- Received 12 July 2001
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.88.065504
©2002 American Physical Society