Theory of Biaxial Nematic Ordering in Rod-Disc Mixtures Revisited

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Abstract
We use the variational cluster approximation to study the relative thermodynamic stability of the spatially uniform phases of binary mixtures of hard rods and discs. The factors promoting the stability of the biaxial nematic phase are identified and discussed. The results suggest that a stable thermotropic nematic biaxial mixture cannot be obtained from molecules of the sizes and electric dipole interaction strengths commonly encountered in real calamitic and discotic thermotropic phases.