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Updated: Dec 9, 2025

Orientational Transition in a Liquid Crystal Triggered by the Thermodynamic Growth of Interfacial Wetting Sheets
Published on: May 15, 2017
Quantitative Anisotropic Analysis of Molecular Orientation in Amorphous N2O at 6 K by Infrared Multiple-Angle
Tetsuya Hama1,2, Atsuki Ishibashi3, Akira Kouchi3
1Komaba Institute for Science, The University of Tokyo, 3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro, Tokyo 153-8902, Japan.
Abstract:
The existence of molecular orientational order in nanometer-thick films of molecules has long been implied by surface potential measurements. However, direct quantitative determination of the molecular orientation is challenging, especially for metastable amorphous thin films at low temperatures. This study quantifies molecular orientation in amorphous N2O at 6 K using infrared multiple-angle incidence resolution spectrometry (IR-MAIRS). The intensity ratio of the weak antisymmetric stretching vibration band of the 14N15NO isotopomer between the in-plane and out-of-plane IR-MAIRS spectra provides an average molecular orientation angle of 65° from the surface normal. No discernible change is observed in the orientation angle when a different substrate material is used (Si and Ar) at 6 K or the Si substrate temperature is changed in the range of 6-14 K. This suggests that the transient mobility of N2O during physisorption is key in governing the molecular orientation in amorphous N2O.
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