Role of subsurface elastic phenomena on the macroscopic properties of nematic liquid crystals

Sandro Faetti

doi:10.1117/12.230647

19 January 1996 Role of subsurface elastic phenomena on the macroscopic properties of nematic liquid crystals

Sandro Faetti

Proceedings Volume 2731, International Liquid Crystal Workshop on Surface Phenomena; (1996) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.230647
Event: International Liquid Crystal Workshop: Surface Phenomena, 1995, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation

Abstract

In this paper we give a short review of some recent theoretical results on the interfacial and surface properties of nematic liquid crystals (NLCs). By using a phenomenological and a molecular model, we show that the surface free energy of nematic liquid crystals contains new specific elastic and geometric terms. Furthermore we show that surface elastic terms that depend on the director derivative along the normal to the interface cannot enter a macroscopic theory of NLCs. Then, we propose a new expression of the surface free energy F_s that does not contain normal director derivatives. F_s contains four independent contributions: a classical anchoring energy, two new geometric surface terms that depend on the two local curvature radii and an elastic term formally equivalent to the classical K₂₄ term. The new free energy is bounded from below and always admits a minimizing director field. All these surface terms can be measured by making suitable experiments on NLCs in spherical or cylindrical cavities.

Citation Download Citation

Sandro Faetti "Role of subsurface elastic phenomena on the macroscopic properties of nematic liquid crystals", Proc. SPIE 2731, International Liquid Crystal Workshop on Surface Phenomena, (19 January 1996); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.230647

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