ANISOTROPY OF DIFFUSION-COEFFICIENTS IN HEXAGONAL DISCOTIC LIQUID-CRYSTALS

The diffusion constants of dyes in several hexagonal discotic liquid crystals are measured and discussed. For all the liquid crystals studied, these constants are anisotropic : the diffusion in the direction parallel to the columns is faster than that in the perpendicular plane (D(parallel-to)/D(perpendicular-to) > 1). The effects of the length and shape of the chains bound to the triphenylene discs are shown. The effect of the dye molecular size is also described. The study of the diffusion coefficients of hexapentoxytriphenylene (C5HET) as a function of temperature has shown that the activation energies along the columns and perpendicular to the columns are comparable. The main features of dye diffusion in the hexagonal columnar liquid crystals studied are similar to those reported in nematic phases.