| Issue |
Europhys. Lett.
Volume 35, Number 3, July 1996
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Page(s) | 189 - 194 | |
| Section | Condensed matter: structure, thermal and mechanical properties | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1209/epl/i1996-00552-9 | |
| Published online | 01 September 2002 | |
Wetting and interfacial order at nematic free surfaces
1
Departamento de Física da Faculdade de Ciências,
Centro de Física da
Matéria Condensada, Universidade de Lisboa,
Av. Prof. Gama Pinto 2, 1699 Lisboa
Codex, Portugal
2
Departamento de Física Atómica, Molecular y Nuclear,
Universidad de
Sevilla, Apartado 1065, Sevilla 41080, Spain
Received:
7
March
1996
Accepted:
31
May
1996
We apply a density-functional theory to the free surface of a model liquid crystal, to investigate the orientational order at the nematic free surface of systems exhibiting orientational wetting at the isotropic liquid-vapour interface. It is shown that the theory accounts for the growth of the surface ordered layer which develops at the nematic-vapour interface, as the temperature increases up to the triple point, as was recently reported for 4-cyano-4'-n-alkyl-biphenyls. We have found a correlation between the growth of this layer and the non-monotonic temperature dependence of the interfacial tension below the triple point. The theoretical results are in excellent agreement with the results for 8CB.
PACS: 61.30.Cz – Theory and models of liquid crystals / 68.45.Gd – Wetting / 68.10.Cr – Surface energy (surface tension, interface tension, angle of contact, etc.)
© EDP Sciences, 1996
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