Elasticity, Viscosity, and Orientational Fluctuations of a Lyotropic Chromonic Nematic Liquid Crystal Disodium Cromoglycate

Abstract

Using dynamic light scattering, we study orientational fluctuation modes in the nematic phase of a self-assembled lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal (LCLC) disodium cromoglycate and measure the Frank elastic moduli and viscosity coefficients. The elastic moduli of splay ( $$K_{1}$$ ) and bend ( $$K_{3}$$ ) are on the order of 10 pN while the twist modulus ( $$K_{2}$$ ) is an order of magnitude smaller. The splay constant $$K_{1}$$ and the ratio $$K_{1}/K_3$$ both increase substantially as the temperature $$T$$ decreases, which we attribute to the elongation of the chromonic aggregates at lower temperatures. The bend viscosity is comparable to that of thermotropic liquid crystals, while the splay and twist viscosities are several orders of magnitude larger. The temperature dependence of bend viscosity is weak. The splay and twist viscosities change exponentially with the temperature. In addition to the director modes, the fluctuation spectrum reveals an additional mode that is attributed to diffusion of structural defects in the column-like aggregates.