Using particle shape to induce tilted and bistable liquid crystal anchoring.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Soft Matter Physics
• Computational Chemistry

Background:

• Liquid crystalline anchoring describes how molecules align at interfaces.
• Understanding anchoring is crucial for designing liquid crystal displays and devices.
• Steric interactions and particle shape significantly influence molecular alignment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of particle-substrate interactions on liquid crystalline anchoring.
• To explore how microscopic interaction parameters influence macroscopic anchoring phenomena.
• To demonstrate the control over anchoring behaviors through tunable HGO-substrate interactions.

Main Methods:

• Monte Carlo simulations were employed.
• Hard Gaussian overlap (HGO) particles were used.
• Symmetric confinement in slab geometry was applied.

Main Results:

• A range of liquid crystalline anchoring behaviors were captured.
• Tilted anchoring was observed.
• Homeotropic-planar bistability was achieved.
• Macroscopic behaviors were controlled by tuning microscopic HGO-substrate interactions.
• Nonadditive descriptions for HGO-substrate shape parameters were utilized.

Conclusions:

• Particle-substrate interactions play a critical role in determining liquid crystalline anchoring.
• Even purely steric interactions with smooth substrates can lead to complex anchoring phenomena.
• Tunable HGO-substrate interactions offer a method to control liquid crystalline alignment for device applications.