OBSERVATION OF A FRUSTRATED PHASE IN MIXTURES OF FERROELECTRIC AND ANTIFERROELECTRIC LIQUID-CRYSTALS

Continuous evolution of polar properties from ferro- to antiferro- has been observed in binary mixtures of compounds having antiferroelectri c and ferroelectric phases. The dielectric constant in the antiferroel ectriclike smectic phase increases continuously upon increasing the fe rroelectric component concentration. The variations of antiferroelectr ic phase properties could be attributed to changes of the azimuthal ti lt angle correlations, which result in frustration between antiferroel ectric and ferroelectric interactions and formation of clusters of bot h phases. A strong difference between dielectric susceptibilities of z ero-field-cooled and field-cooled samples was observed in a frustrated phase.