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Updated: Feb 1, 2026

Synthesis and Exfoliation of Discotic Zirconium Phosphates to Obtain Colloidal Liquid Crystals
Published on: May 25, 2016
Effect of the anchoring strength on the phase behaviour of discotic liquid crystals under face-on confinement
Daniel Salgado-Blanco1, Enrique Díaz-Herrera2, Carlos I Mendoza3
1Cátedras CONACyT-Centro Nacional de Supercómputo, Instituto Potosino de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica, Camino a la Presa San José 2055, 78216, San Luis Potosí, Mexico.
Abstract:
In this study we have performed molecular dynamics simulations to study a Gay-Berne discotic fluid confined in a slab geometry for a fixed confinement length. Four different anchoring strengths with a homeotropic (face-on) configuration were studied. We found that changing the anchoring strength changes the normal component of the stress tensor, which in turn changes the density of the system's bulk. This phenomenon leads to a shift in the isotropic-nematic transition temperature. We observe that the temperature regions where the nematic phase is present diminishes as the anchoring strength increases. The anchoring strength also affects the nematic-columnar coexistence temperature-region: it spans over more temperatures at higher anchoring strengths.
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