Thermodynamics of phase transition from a nematic liquid crystal into an isotropic liquid in para-azoxyanisole (PAA) at high pressures
Stishov S.M., Ivanov V.A., Kachinskii V.N.
A piston piezometer is used to investigate, for the first time, the phase transition from a nematic liquid crystal to an isotropic liquid in para-azoxyanisole at high pressures. It is shown that the nematic-liquid phase transition is of first order in the entire interval of investigated temperatures and pressures. Evidence is presented favoring the concept that the dominant role is played by repulsion between particles in the nematic ordering.