Calorimetric studies on isotropic-B4 phase transition in the mixture of bent-shaped and rod-like molecules

Calorimetric studies have been performed on a mixture of achiral bent-shaped and rod-like molecules using a high-resolution ac calorimetry and a high-sensitivity differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Both ac calorimetry and DSC yielded essentially the same result for B4–BX transition, while a significant difference has been observed at the isotropic-B4 transition during cooling. Particularly, DSC measurements revealed the characteristic heat capacity behavior accompanying distinct many peaks at the isotropic-B4 transition. A comparison with recent reports strongly suggests that the obtained data reflect the growth processes of the helical nanofilaments in the isotropic 5CB molecules.