Phase behavior of ionic liquid crystals.

Bulk properties of ionic liquid crystals are investigated using density functional theory. The liquid crystal molecules are represented by ellipsoidal particles with charges located in their center or at their tails. Attractive interactions are taken into account in terms of the Gay–Berne pair potential. Rich phase diagrams involving vapor, isotropic and nematic liquid, as well as smectic phases are found. The dependence of the phase behavior on various parameters such as the length of the particles and the location of charges on the particles is studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]