研究目的
Investigating the effect of anchoring strength on the phase behaviour of discotic liquid crystals under face-on confinement.
研究成果
The anchoring strength has an impact on the nematic phase: when the anchoring strength is higher, the range of temperatures where this phase is present is reduced. Increasing the anchoring strength reduces the temperature at which the system turns to nematic. The anchoring strength also affects the confined systems at temperatures below the nematic phase region: the two systems with a stronger anchoring show a nematic-columnar coexistence region that is not observed in the two systems with a lower anchoring.
研究不足
The study is focused on the comparison of systems with a fixed confinement length, where only the tangential component of the stress tensor is fixed, and hence, the direct comparison of an inhomogenous system versus an homogeneous system is more qualitative than quantitative. The Gay-Berne model may adjust better to a model of colloidal liquid crystals rather than to molecular liquid crystals specifically with regard to density behaviour.
1：Experimental Design and Method Selection:
Molecular dynamics simulations were performed 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.
2：Sample Selection and Data Sources:
The system consists of a discotic liquid crystal confined in a rectangular slab, whose walls are separated by a fixed distance.
3：List of Experimental Equipment and Materials:
The particle-particle interaction is defined by a Gay-Berne pair potential. The wall-disc interaction is also modeled with a Gay-Berne potential.
4：Experimental Procedures and Operational Workflow:
Molecular Dynamics simulations have been carried out on an ensemble of 20000 particles inside of a parallelepipedic box of variable volume. The simulation box presents periodic boundary conditions along the x and y directions and is limited along the z axis by two walls which promote an homeotropic or face-on anchoring.
5：Data Analysis Methods:
The orientational order of the system was characterized by calculating the largest eigenvalue of the orientational tensor. The density profile was calculated in the z direction.
独家科研数据包，助您复现前沿成果，加速创新突破
获取完整内容
