Volume phase transitions of smectic gels.

We present a mean-field theory to describe volume phase transitions of side-chain liquid crystalline (LC) gels, accompanied by isotropic-nematic-smectic- A phase transitions. Three different uniaxial nematic phases ( N1 , N2 , and N3 ) and smectic- A phases ( S1 , S2 , and S3 ) are defined by using orientational order parameter S_{m} of side-chain liquid crystals (mesogens), S_{b} of semiflexible backbone chains, and a translational order parameter sigma for a smectic- A phase. We derive the free energy for smectic- A phases of side-chain LC gels dissolved in an isotropic solvent and examine the swelling curve of the LC gel, the orientational order parameters, and the deformation of the LC gel as a function of temperature. We find that the LC gel discontinuously changes the volume at an isotropic-nematic, an isotropic-smectic- A , and a nematic-smectic- A phase transition.