The liquid-crystal dimer 1′′,7′′-bis(4-cyanobiphenyl-4′-yl)heptane (CB7CB) exhibits two liquid-crystalline mesophases on cooling from the isotropic phase. The high-temperature phase is nematic; the identification and characterization of the other liquid-crystal phase is reported in this paper. It is concluded that the low-temperature mesophase of CB7CB is a new type of uniaxial nematic phase having a nonuniform director distribution composed of twist-bend deformations. The techniques of small-angle x-ray scattering, modulated differential scanning calorimetry, and dielectric spectroscopy have been applied to establish the nature of the nematic-nematic phase transition and the structural features of the twist-bend nematic phase. In addition, magnetic resonance studies (electron-spin resonance and ${}^2$H nuclear magnetic resonance) have been used to investigate the orientational order and director distribution in the liquid-crystalline phases of CB7CB. The synthesis of a specifically deuterated sample of CB7CB is reported, and measurements showed a bifurcation of the quadrupolar splitting on entering the low-temperature mesophase from the high-temperature nematic phase. This splitting could be interpreted in terms of the chirality of the twist-bend structure of the director. Calculations using an atomistic model and the surface interaction potential with Monte Carlo sampling have been carried out to determine the conformational distribution and predict dielectric and elastic properties in the nematic phase. The former are in agreement with experimental measurements, while the latter are consistent with the formation of a twist-bend nematic phase.

• Received 3 March 2011

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.84.031704

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Physical Review E 25th Anniversary Milestones

The year 2018 marks the 25th anniversary of Physical Review E. To celebrate the journal’s rich legacy, during the upcoming year we highlight a series of papers that made important contributions to their field. These milestone articles were nominated by members of the Editorial Board of Physical Review E, in collaboration with the journal’s editors. The 25 milestone articles, including an article for each calendar year from 1993 through 2017 and spanning all major subject areas of the journal, will be unveiled in chronological order and will be featured on the journal website.