Eur. Phys. J. E (2006) 20: 81-87
https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/i2006-10006-4

Regular Article

Extension of the resonant scattering technique to liquid crystals without resonant element

¹ Centre de Recherche Paul-Pascal-CNRS, Université Bordeaux 1, Avenue A. Schweitzer, 33600, Pessac, France
² Department of Chemistry, University of York, YO10 5DD, York, UK
³ Department of Chemistry, University of Hull, HU6 7RX, Hull, UK
⁴ European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), BP 220, 38043, Grenoble, France

^* e-mail: barois@crpp-bordeaux.cnrs.fr

Received: 20 January 2006
Accepted: 28 March 2006
Published online: 17 May 2006

Abstract

We report X-ray resonant scattering experiments performed on the prototype liquid-crystalline compound MHPOBC doped with a chemical probe containing a resonant atom (selenium). We determined directly for the first time the microscopic 3- and 4-layer structure of the ferrielectric subphases ( SmC_FI1 ^* and SmC_FI2 ^*) present in MHPOBC. Despite the low fraction of the selenium probe, the resonant signal is strong enough to allow an unambiguous determination of the basic structure of the ferrielectric subphases. These experiments demonstrate that the resonant scattering technique can be extended to liquid crystalline materials without resonant element and may stimulate new studies. A non-resonant Bragg reflection was also found in the SmC_FI1 ^* phase in pure MHPOBC, consistent with the 3-layer distorted model, but never detected before.