Premium
Anchoring Transition Induced by Gelation in a Liquid Crystal System
Author(s) -
Bhargavi R.,
Nair Geetha G.,
Prasad S. Krishna
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
chemphyschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.016
H-Index - 140
eISSN - 1439-7641
pISSN - 1439-4235
DOI - 10.1002/cphc.201200920
Subject(s) - anchoring , liquid crystal , rheology , materials science , chemical physics , dielectric , permittivity , thermal , substrate (aquarium) , chemical engineering , composite material , chemistry , thermodynamics , physics , geology , optoelectronics , oceanography , structural engineering , engineering
We report a novel type of anchoring transition (ANT) in a liquid crystal driven by the physical gelation of the system. The ANT manifests as anomaly in the thermal behaviour of the dielectric permittivity. Data from X‐ray studies suggest that ANT is caused by the ability of the gel fibres to compete with the substrate‐driven orientation conditions. It is further found that the molecular reorientation is possible only in cases where the gel is weak, the difference between weak and strong gels being established by rheological measurements.