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where Dn eff 0
¼ n x 0 n y 0 . The samples satisfy the condition for this simplification:
Dn eff 0 is of the order of 10 2 whereas the refractive index normal to the long axis
( n ) for 5CB is ca. 1.5 at 25 C[ 35 ] . Figure 8b shows the V 0 dependence of y
obtained using ( 3 ) with the data in Fig. 8a . The results demonstrate the rotation
process of the director from 0 toward 90 .
3.3 Director Rotation Characterized by Polarized FTIR
The director-rotation behavior under electric fields was also characterized by
polarized FTIR [ 33 ]. Polarized FTIR has been used to characterize mesogen
reorientation and mobility in monodomain LCEs in response to external mechani-
cal fields [ 25 , 36 ] . The dependence of the absorbance A of a characteristic band on
the polarizer angle reflects the average orientation of the bond: A is proportional to
m
2
denotes the molecular transition dipole moment, vector
E denotes the electric field of the IR beam, and the bracket represents averaging
over all molecules in the measured region. In usual optical birefringence measure-
ments, the information obtained is only the difference of the contributions in two
directions such as ( n x n y ). Polarized FTIR provides further information about the
mesogen reorientation, because this technique gives information about the contri-
bution in each direction separately.
Almost the same observation geometry used in the optical birefringence mea-
surement (Fig. 3 ) was employed for the polarized FTIR measurements. CaF 2 plates
with ITO electrodes that are transparent to infrared beams were used. The absorp-
tion band of the stretching vibration of the terminal cyano group parallel to the long
axes of the mesogens (A-6OCB) and solvent (5CB) at around 2,225 cm 1 was used
to characterize the director rotation. The absorbances of the incident polarized light
parallel and normal to the initial director axis (denoted by A x 0 and A y 0 , respectively)
were evaluated from the area of the corresponding peak as a function of V 0 . The
absorbance of the silicone oil at around the wavelength of interest (2,225 cm 1 ) was
negligible. The absorbances A x 0 and A y 0 reflect the total contributions from the
mesogens of the LCE and the solvent, and they are used to analyze the director-
rotation behavior.
Figure 9a shows the V 0 dependencies of the reduced absorbances A x
E
Þ
i
where vector
m
¼A x 0 /
[
(l z A y 0 0 )] and A y [
¼A y 0 /(l z A y 0 0 )], where A x 0 and A y 0 are reduced by l z to consider the
variation in effective thickness due to deformation, and A y 0 0
is the value of A y 0 at
V 0 ¼
N bond parallel
to the long axis of the mesogens. A finite difference in A x and A y at V 0 ¼
0. The absorbance A reflects the average orientation of the C
0 (denoted
A x 0 and A y 0 , respectively) reflects the initial uniaxial orientation (original director)
in the x -direction. As V 0 increases, the difference in A x and A y becomes smaller
while A y remains almost unchanged. Furthermore, A x becomes nearly equal to A y at
high V 0 . When a uniform reorientation of mesogens in the specimen is assumed, A x
and A y correspond to the long and short axes of the intersection in the x - y plane at
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