Photopyroelectric Calorimetry Investigations of 8CB Liquid Crystal–Microemulsion System

In this work, the photopyroelectric technique has been used to investigate the phase transitions in a liquid crystal microemulsion by combining the simultaneous high temperature resolution thermal diffusivity measurements and optical polarization microscopy observations. It has been found that, during the conversion from the isotropic phase into the nematic one, the micelles are expelled from the nematic domains and remain confined in islands of isotropic material which survive down to the smectic temperature range. A hysteresis in the thermal diffusivity profiles between heating and cooling run over the isotropic–nematic transition temperature range has been observed which has been ascribed to the different micelles distribution into the sample volume during cooling and heating runs. Finally, the almost bulk-like behavior of the thermal diffusivity over the nematic–smectic phase transition confirms that a significant fraction of the micelles are expelled during the nucleation of the nematic phase.