Effect of the Electrical Field on the Phase Transition in Solutions of Rod-Like Particles I: Optical Observations

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Abstract
Effect of electrical field on the temperature of phase transition between the isotropic liquid phase and liquid crystal phase in dioxane solution of poly-γ-benzyl-L-glutamate (PBLG), ranging in concentration from 11.0 to 15.0 wt % was examined by means of polarizing microscope measurements. Shift of the transition temperature, δT was found to be essentially proportional to square of the field strength applied in the range of less than 500 volts/cm. A semi-empirical equation which gives a linear relationship between the transition temperature and square of the field strength is derived taking the structure of the solution into consideration and compared with the experiments.