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Updated: Nov 24, 2025

Orientational Transition in a Liquid Crystal Triggered by the Thermodynamic Growth of Interfacial Wetting Sheets
Published on: May 15, 2017
Liquid/liquid interface in periodic boundary condition
Marin Vatin1, Magali Duvail1, Philippe Guilbaud2
1ICSM, CEA, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, ENSCM, Marcoule, France. jean-francois.dufreche@icsm.fr.
Abstract:
We study how surface phenomena can change the interface geometry in liquid-liquid two-phase systems with periodic boundary conditions. Without any curvature effect on surface tension, planar (slab), cylindrical, and spherical structures are successively obtained as a function of the total composition and elongation of the box, in accordance with molecular dynamics simulations for a water/heptane system. The curvature effects described by Tolman relationship desymmetrize the phase diagram by stabilizing a concavity but it leads to inconsistencies with high curvature. Helfrich model partially resolves this and predicts the possible presence of shells reflecting a frustrated system.
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