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arXiv · 2605.26338

Phase behavior of solvent-nematogen mixtures

Sullivan Bailey-Darland·Takumi Matsuzawa·Eric R. Dufresne
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Abstract

Liquid mixtures with a nematogen can undergo both fluid phase separation and a transition from an isotropic to a nematic state. These phase transitions can couple and lead to phase behavior distinct from simple liquid mixtures or pure liquid crystals. We measured the phase behavior of mixtures of a nematogen (5CB) with simple liquid solvents (squalane and/or squalene). We observed two distinct kinds of binary phase diagrams: with and without a region of isotropic-isotropic coexistence. Varying the ratio of squalene to squalane, we continuously tuned the phase boundaries of the apparent binary system and revealed a region of three-phase coexistence. A mean-field model combining classical models of liquid mixing and nematic ordering quantitatively describes both binary and ternary phase behavior. This simple model predicts a range of topologically complex ternary phase diagrams and extends naturally to systems with more components.

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Sullivan Bailey-Darland, Takumi Matsuzawa, Eric R. Dufresne. 2026-05-25. Phase behavior of solvent-nematogen mixtures. https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.26338

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