Role of the local order on the thermal cis-to-transisomerisation kinetics of azo-dyes in nematic liquid crystals†
Abstract
Azoderivatives show faster thermal cis-to-transisomerisation kinetics when they are under the influence of the nematic mean field than dissolved in isotropic solution. The local order parameter induced in the azo-dye by the host mesogen determines the rate of its thermal cis-to-transisomerisation process. In this way, AZO6-LC mixtures with the same order parameter exhibit identical isomerisation rates independently of the mesogen chemical nature. The temperature dependence of the local order parameter of the