Phase Transition and Dynamics in Imidazolium-Based Ionic Liquid Crystals through a Metastable Highly Ordered Smectic Phase

The phase transition behavior and dynamics of ionic liquid crystals, 1-methyl-3-alkylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate with various alkyl chain lengths, were investigated by X-ray scattering, differential scanning calorimetry, optical microscopy, and dielectric relaxation spectroscopy to elucidate the mechanism of their structural and phase changes. A metastable phase was found to appear via a supercooled smectic phase on cooling. In the metastable phase, disorder in the smectic phase is partially frozen; thus, the phase has order higher than that of the smectic phase but lower than that of the crystalline phase. During the subsequent heating process, the frozen disorder activates, and a crystalline phase appears in the supercooled smectic phase before entering the smectic phase. The relationship between the phase behavior and the dynamics of charge carriers such as ions is also discussed.