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Updated: Jun 21, 2026

Orientational Transition in a Liquid Crystal Triggered by the Thermodynamic Growth of Interfacial Wetting Sheets
Published on: May 15, 2017
Anchoring transitions of transversely polar liquid-crystal molecules on perfluoropolymer surfaces
Surajit Dhara1, Jin Ki Kim, Soon Moon Jeong
1Department of Organic and Polymeric Materials, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1-S8-42 O-okayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan. sdsp@uohyd.ernet.in
Abstract:
We report a strong discontinuous orientational transition (anchoring transition) of liquid-crystal molecules with a large transverse dipole moment. A perfluoropolymer was used as an alignment layer and the transition was observed from planar to homeotropic with decreasing temperature in the nematic phase. Conversely a gradual variation in tilt angle from homeotropic to conical was observed in a liquid crystal with a comparatively smaller transverse dipole moment on the same alignment layer. The experimental results clearly demonstrate the competition between a short-range dipolar force and long-range van der Waals force at the interfacial region. Using discontinuous anchoring transition in the sample, we demonstrate a possible bistable device for memory and light-driven display.
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