Abstract
A high-sensitivity ac calorimeter system has been developed to investigate the temperature variation of the heat capacity from free-standing liquid-crystal films. We have observed a clear evolution of the heat-capacity anomaly from films of the liquid-crystal compound 650 BC as the films are reduced in thickness from 10 to 4 molecular layers near their bulk smectic-Ahexatic-B transition. Here 650BC refers to n-hexyl-4-n-pentyloxybiphenyl-4-carboxylate. The four-layer films show a single, sharp, and cusplike heat-capacity peak without thermal hysteresis.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 540-543 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Physical review letters |
| Volume | 63 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1989 |