Related papers: Temperature-driven anchoring transitions at liquid…
We consider the mesoscopic model for the liquid crystalline brush that might serve as a photoswitchable aligning surface for preorientation of low molecular weight liquid crystals in a bulk. The brush is built by grafting the polymer chains…
Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is a semi--crystalline polymer that can be crystallized to different degrees heating from the amorphous state. Even when primary crystallization has been completed, secondary crystallization can take place…
Surface freezing is a phenomenon in which crystallization is enhanced at a vapor-liquid interface. In some systems, such as $n$-alkanes, this enhancement is dramatic, and results in the formation of a crystalline layer at the free interface…
We investigate the switching dynamics of multistable nematic liquid crystal devices. In particular we identify a remarkably simple 2-dimensional (2D) device which exploits hybrid alignment at the surfaces to yield a bistable response. We…
We use a method of molecular dynamics to investigate the distribution of liquid crystal 5CB molecules in a polymeric matrix. Temperature dependences of parameters of an order <P2> are calculated. Calculations have shown that depending on…
Systems with holes, such as colloidal handlebodies and toroidal droplets, have been studied in the nematic liquid crystal (NLC) 4-cyano-4'-pentylbiphenyl (5CB): both point and ring topological defects can occur within each hole and around…
By means of atomistic molecular dynamics simulations we investigate the behaviour of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide), PNIPAM, in water at temperatures below and above the lower critical solution temperature (LCST), including the undercooled…
Thin elastic films can spontaneously attach to liquid interfaces, offering a platform for tailoring their physical, chemical, and optical properties. Current understanding of the elastocapillarity of thin films is based primarily on studies…
Boiling is a prevalent phase-change process that plays a vital role in facilitating efficient heat transfer from a heating surface. While this heat transfer mechanism is generally effective, a rapid increase in surface temperature can lead…
In this work, we provide mechanistic insight into the initial stages of formation of ice across the limit of stability of supercooled water. Such an analysis is particularly important since crystal nucleation is not a relevant mechanism…
Falling liquid films become unstable due to inertial effects when the fluid layer is sufficiently thick or the slope sufficiently steep. This free surface flow of a single fluid layer has industrial applications including coating and heat…
Capillary microflows of liquid crystal phases are central to material, biological and bio-inspired systems. Despite their fundamental and applied significance, a detailed understanding of the stationary behaviour of nematic liquid crystals…
Thermodynamic multi-component solution solidification approach to liquid-to-glass transition is proposed and actual mechanisms underlying vitrification, other than viscous slowdown, are identified. Due to polydisperse aggregation in liquid…
Current vapor-compression technology is based on the gas-liquid transition of hazardous gas. The alternative cooling technology focuses on the solid caloric material. A new liquid barocaloric material, i.e. the liquid crystal, is proved to…
Partially wetting nematic liquid crystal (NLC) films on substrates are unstable to dewetting-type instabilities due to destablizing solid/NLC interaction forces. These instabilities are modified by the nematic nature of the films, which…
Highly directional and lossless surface wave has significant potential applications in the two-dimensional photonic circuits and devices. Here we experimentally demonstrate a selective Dyakonov surface wave coupling at the interface between…
We study, by means of computer simulations, the crystal-melt interface of three different systems: hard-spheres, Lennard Jones and the TIP4P/2005 water model. In particular, we focus on the dynamics of surface waves. We observe that the…
By Monte Carlo simulations of a soft ellipsoid model for liquid crystals, we study whether a layer of grafted liquid-crystalline chain molecules can induce tilt in a nematic fluid. The chains are fairly short (four monomers) and made of the…
In the present work, a detailed analysis of the glassy behavior and the relaxation dynamics of the liquid crystal dimer {\alpha}-(4-cyanobiphenyl-4'-yloxy)-{\omega}-(1-pyrenimine-benzylidene-4'-oxy) heptane (CBO7O.Py) throughout both…
A novel liquid-liquid phase transition has been proposed and investigated in a wide variety of pure substances recently, including water, silica and silicon. From computer simulations using the Stillinger-Weber classical empirical…