Ag. Vanakaras et Dj. Photinos, THE INTERACTIONS OF SMALL CHAIN SOLUTES IN NEMATIC SOLVENTS, Molecular crystals and liquid crystals science and technology. Section A, Molecular crystals and liquid crystals, 262, 1995, pp. 463-471
We formulate the probability distribution of orientations and conforma
tions of flexible chains by explicitly taking into account short range
repulsions and el ectrostatic interactions with the solvent molecules
. The theory is used calculate the segmental order parameters associat
ed with proton NMR measurements on n-alkanes and to study the apparent
shift of the gauche-trans energy in the nematic phase. The foundation
of the modular description of chain ordering is investigated in the l
ight of the above developments. Excluded volume and electrostatic effe
cts on the conformation energy of dimethoxyethane are evaluated.