We study photopolymerization in a low-molecular weight liquid crystal with non-uniform director gradients. Phase separation results in spatially non-uniform distribution of polymer density controlled by the distorted nematic matrix. Director-gradient-controlled polymerization provides a new and useful technique to assemble micron-scale polymer architectures.
@article{arxiv.cond-mat/0109473,
title = {Effect of Director Distortions on Polymer-Liquid Crystal Phase Separation},
author = {D. Voloschenko and O. P. Pishnyak and S. V. Shiyanovskii and O. D. Lavrentovich},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:cond-mat/0109473},
year = {2007}
}