The solute orientation parameters for benzene, trichloro-, and tribromobenzene have been measured, as functions of temperature, in the nematic solvents EBBA and ZLI-1132. The potential functions for orientation were derived for the model based on short and long-range contributions to the potential, with the former dependent on either a function of molecular shape or of molecular volume. There is reasonable agreement between calculated and experimental solute order parameters in both cases, and the difference in solute order parameter in the two solvents arises mainly from the difference in solvent electric field gradient.Utilisant les solvants nematiques EBBA et ZLI-1132, on a mesure les paramktres d'orientation de solute du benzkne et des trichloro-et tribromo-benzknes, en fonction de la temperature. On a obtenu les fonctions de potentiel du modkle en se basant sur les contributions au potentiel 2i courte ainsi qu'i longue distance; les premikres dependent soit de la forrne soit du volume molCculaire. Dans chacun de ces cas, on observe une bonne concordance entre les parametres calculCs et les paramktres experimentaux pour l'ordre des solutes; dans ces deux solvants, la difference dans le paramktre d'ordre du solute provient principalement de la difference dans le gradient du champ Clectrique.[Traduit par la revue] Introduction There have been numerous attempts to extend the original Maier-Saupe theory of nematic liquid crystals (1) to account for the orientation of a solute molecule dissolved in a nematic solvent, and, in particular, to relate this orientation to some molecular property of the solute. Recently, Bumell and coworkers (2-4) have proposed two approaches to this problem. The first is that the intermolecular forces responsible for the orientation of the solute arise from both short:range and longrange interactions, which depend upon the solute molecular size and shape and on the interaction of the solute molecular quadmpole moment with the electric field gradient in the solvent, respectively. The second theory (4) requires that a plot of the