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Updated: Sep 27, 2026

Orientational Transition in a Liquid Crystal Triggered by the Thermodynamic Growth of Interfacial Wetting Sheets
Published on: May 15, 2017
Surface ordering transitions at a liquid crystal-solid interface above the isotropic smectic-A transition
T Jin1, G P Crawford, R J Crawford
1Department of Physics, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242, USA.
Abstract:
The degree of orientational order induced by confining cylindrical surfaces is monitored via deuteron nuclear magnetic resonance linesplitting and linewidth above the smectic-A to isotropic phase transition. The orientational order strongly depends on the length of the surfactant coupling molecule, on the surface coverage, and on the liquid crystal. Continuous and stepwise growth of orientational order and surface-induced orientational order transitions found in the isotropic phase are explained in terms of a simplified model of surface-induced layering and molecular self-diffusion.
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