Related papers: Polar Smectic Films
We explore the phase behavior and structure of orthogonal smectic liquid crystals consisting of bent-core molecules (BCMs) by means of Monte Carlo molecular simulations. A simple athermal molecular model is introduced that describes the…
The effect of the film thickness and temperature on structural phase transformations in infinite films of bcc zirconium with (001) crystallographic orientation is studied by the molecular dynamics method with a many-body potential of…
Two-dimensional polar liquid crystals have been discovered recently in monolayers of anisotropic molecules. Here, we provide a systematic theoretical description of liquid-crystalline phases for polar particles in two spatial dimensions.…
Morphological changes in a dry phospholipid film on a solid substrate were studied below and above the main transition temperature, between the gel and liquid-crystalline phases by phase-contrast microscopy and AFM. A Phospholipid film in…
We show that surface interactions can vectorially structure the three-dimensional polariza-tion field of a ferroelectric fluid. The contact between a ferroelectric nematic liquid crystal and a surface with in-plane polarity generates a…
We present theoretical study of a single disclination motion in a thin free standing hexatic (or smectic-C) film, driven by a large-scale inhomogeneity in the bond (or director) angle. Back-flow effects and own dynamics of the bond angle…
The surface phase behavior of binary mixtures of colloidal hard rods in contact with a solid substrate (hard wall) is studied, with special emphasis on the region of the phase diagram that includes the smectic A phase. The colloidal rods…
Recently, a new class of smectic liquid crystal phases (SmCP phases) characterized by the spontaneous formation of macroscopic chiral domains from achiral bent-core molecules has been discovered. We have carried out Monte Carlo simulations…
We report the smectic $A_F$, a new liquid crystal phase of the ferroelectric nematic realm. The smectic $A_F$ is a phase of small polar, rod-shaped molecules which form two-dimensional fluid layers spaced by approximately the mean molecular…
We present an experimental study of the surface effects (interactions with the container walls) during the nucleation and growth of smectic B crystals from the nematic in free growth and directional solidification of a mesogenic molecule…
Smectic liquid crystals vividly illustrate the subtle interplay of broken translational and orientational symmetries, by exhibiting defect structures forming geometrically perfect confocal ellipses and hyperbolas. Here, we develop and…
Smectic blue phases (BPSm) are new mesophases of thermotropic liquid crystals, which exhibit a double geometrical frustration: the extension of chirality in three spatial dimensions like the classical blue phases, and helical twist…
The crystal-melt interfaces of a binary hard-sphere fluid mixture in coexistence with a single-component hard-sphere crystal is investigated using molecular-dynamics simulation. In the system under study, the fluid phase consists of a…
Thin polymer films have attracted attention because of both their broad range of applications and of the fundamental questions they raise regarding the dynamic response of confined polymers. These films are unstable if the temperature is…
We examine the behavior of spherical silica particles trapped at an air-nematic liquid crystal interface. When a strong normal anchoring is imposed, the beads spontaneously form various structures depending on their area density and the…
The confining effect of a spherical substrate inducing anchoring (normal to the surface) of rod-like liquid crystal molecules contained in a thin film spread over it has been investigated with regard to possible changes in the nature of the…
Nematic liquid crystals have been known for more than a century, but it was not until the 60s-70s that, with the development of room temperature nematics, they became widely used in applications. Polar nematic phases have been long-time…
The recent discovery of ferroelectric nematics-genuine 3D ferroelectric fluids-has underscored the importance of electrostatic interactions in shaping the physical behaviour of soft matter systems. In this paper, we investigate the…
In this study, micro-droplets are placed on thin, glassy, free-standing films where the Laplace pressure of the droplet deforms the free-standing film, creating a bulge. The film's tension is modulated by changing temperature continuously…
Spontaneous orientation polarization (SOP) of polar molecules is formed in vacuum-deposited films by tilting their permanent dipole moment against the substrate surface direction. In this study, we developed SOP molecules with high…