ON THE MEANING OF THE SPINODAL IN LIQUID-CRYSTALLINE SOLUTIONS

Complete theoretical phase diagrams for the case of a nematic liquid c rystal in solution are presented. Several example calculations demonst rate the effects of molecular weight and enthalpic interactions on the expected phase behavior. For two prototypical cases, one correspondin g to a low molecular weight compound and the other to its polymeric an alog, spinodal curves are calculated based on the necessary and suffic ient conditions for phase stability. The phase diagrams for these syst ems are found to exhibit large metastability gaps.