Nonlinear dielectric spectroscopy in a fragile plastic crystal

Abstract

In this work we provide a thorough examination of the nonlinear dielectric properties of a succinonitrile-glutaronitrile mixture, representing one of the rare example of a plastic crystal with fragile glassy dynamics. The detected alteration of the complex dielectric permittivity under high fields can be explained considering the heterogeneous nature of glassy dynamics and a field-induced variation of entropy. While the first mechanism was also found in structural glass formers, the latter effect seems to be typical for plastic crystals. Morover, the third harmonic component of the dielectric susceptibility is reported, revealing a spectral shape as predicted for cooperative molecular dynamics. In accord with the fragile nature of the glass transition in this plastic crystal, we deduce a relatively strong temperature dependence of the number of correlated molecules, in contrast to the much weaker temperature dependence in plastic-crystalline cyclo-octanol, whose glass transition is of strong nature.

7 pages, 5 figures

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Cited by in corpus (6)

• Investigation of nonlinear effects in glassy matter using dielectric methods
• Unifying different interpretations of the nonlinear response in glass-forming liquids
• The glass transition in molecules, colloids and grains: universality and specificity
• The effect of polymorphism on the structural, dynamic and dielectric properties of plastic crystal water: A molecular dynamics simulation perspective
• Nonlinear response theory for Markov processes II: Fifth-order response functions
• Third and Fifth Harmonic Responses in Viscous Liquids