Fig. 4: Clustering effect on the evolution of phase sequence.
a The schematic illustration of the growth process of the cybotactic cluster in the NF phase for 1/2 mixture. The exchange of cisDIO with transDIO promotes the anisotropic cluster growth. b The average molecular numbers in the cluster (\(\bar{N}\)) as a function of T − Tc of the 1/2 mixture with various dr (100/0–50/50). c The corresponding \(\bar{N}\) as a function of dr (T − Tc = −10 °C). d The relationship between latent heat (ΔH) and dr at T − Tc = −10 °C. Note: two distinct section of the phase transition types are indicated by color bands: IL–N–M–NF regime (blue), IL–(N)–NF regime (orange) in the panel c and d. e Energy diagram of the NF phase in 1/2 system generated by MD simulation. The snapshots (after 300 ns equilibration run) of four system consisting of parallel 1–1, anti-parallel 1–1, parallel 1–2 and anti-parallel 1–2 dimers obtained by all-atom MD simulation (for 1–1 dimer, 323 K; for 1–2 dimer, 288 K) are inserted. β denotes the average tilt angle of molecules in a smectic layer. The bottom values are the average total energy (simulation time: 200–300 ns).
