English

Wetting of cholesteric liquid crystals

Soft Condensed Matter 2015-07-17 v1

Abstract

We investigate theoretically the wetting properties of cholesteric liquid crystals at a planar substrate. If the properties of substrate and of the interface are such that the cholesteric layers are not distorted the wetting properties are similar to those of a nematic liquid crystal. If, on the other hand, the anchoring conditions force the distortion of the liquid crystal layers the wetting properties are altered, the free cholesteric-isotropic interface is non-planar and there is a layer of topological defects close to the substrate. These deformations can either promote or hinder the wetting of the substrate by a cholesteric, depending on the properties of the cholesteric liquid crystal.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1507.04510,
  title  = {Wetting of cholesteric liquid crystals},
  author = {Nuno M. Silvestre and Maria Carolina Figueirinhas Pereira and Nelson R. Bernardino and Margarida M. Telo da Gama},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1507.04510},
  year   = {2015}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-22T10:12:58.028Z