Calorimetric evidence for the existence of an intermediate phase between the ferroelectric nematic phase and the nematic phase in the liquid crystal RM734.

Abstract

The idea that rodlike molecules possessing an electric dipole moment could exhibit a ferroelectric nematic phase was suggested more than a century ago. However, only recently such a phase has been reported for two quite different liquid crystals: RM734 [4-[(4-nitrophenoxy)carbonyl)]phenyl 2,4-dimethoxybenzoate] and DIO [2.3',4',5'-tetrafluoro[1,1'-biphenyl]-4-yl 2.6-difluoro-4-(5-propyl-1,3-dioxan-2-yl) benzoate]. For RM734 a direct ferroelectric nematic (N_{F}) to classical nematic N transition was reported, whereas for DIO an intermediate phase N_{x} was discovered between the N_{F} and the N phases. Here we present high-resolution calorimetric evidence that an intermediate N_{x} phase also exists in RM734 along a narrow temperature range between the N_{F} and the N phases.