Formation of the Smectic-B Crystal from a Simple Monatomic Liquid

TL;DR

This study demonstrates through molecular dynamics simulations that a smectic B crystalline phase can form from a simple monatomic liquid with spherically symmetric interactions, revealing new possibilities for phase formation.

Contribution

It shows that smectic B phases, typically seen in anisotropic molecules, can be formed by isotropic particles, broadening understanding of liquid crystal phase formation.

Findings

Smectic B phase forms via first order transition from isotropic liquid.

The structure matches that of elongated particles with aspect ratio 1.8.

Dominant ABC-type axial layer stacking observed.

Abstract

We report a molecular dynamics simulation demonstrating that the Smectic B crystalline phase (Cr-B), commonly observed in mesogenic systems of anisotropic molecules, can be formed by a system of identical particles interacting via a spherically symmetric potential. The Cr-B phase forms as a result of a first order transition from an isotropic liquid phase upon isochoric cooling at appropriate number density. Its structure, determined by the design of the pair potential corresponds to Cr-B structure formed by elongated particles with the aspect ratio 1.8. The diffraction pattern, and the real-space structure inspection demonstrate dominance of the ABC-type of axial layer stacking. This result opens a general possibility of producing smectic phases using isotropic interparticle interaction both in simulations and in colloidal systems.