Interlayer interactions in enantiomeric anticlinic liquid crystalline mixtures

The interlayer interaction coefficient U in the anticlinic phase of enantio meric binary mixtures was determined by measuring the threshold electric fi eld for the onset of solitary waves. U was found to increase with decreasin g temperature in the anticlinic phase for a given enantiomer excess X. The ratio U(X,theta)/U(X = 1,theta), where theta is the polar angle, was found to be significantly smaller for mixtures with low enantiomer excess than fo r the optically pure material. The observed behavior is analyzed using a me an-field model for dipole-dipole interactions in adjacent layers.