2004/04/09 by Louis A. Madsen, Theo J. Dingemans, Michi Nakata +1 · 4 citations
Materials Science · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Physics and Astronomy · #Liquid Crystal Research Advancements #Plant Reproductive Biology #Photonic Crystals and Applications
paper · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.92.145505
openalex publication_date 2004/04/09 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/26
We have synthesized liquid crystal (LC) mesogens based on a nonlinear oxadiazole unit that exhibit nematic phases near 200 degrees C. Polarized microscopy and conoscopy indicate that these LCs are biaxial nematics. Unambiguous and quantitative evidence for biaxiality is achieved using 2H NMR spectroscopy. "2D powder" spectra, obtained by rotating 2H-labeled samples about an axis perpendicular to the magnetic field at approximately 200 Hz, yield phase biaxiality parameters of approximately 0.1 when coupled with rigorous and proven simulations.