Two-dimensional nematics in bulk and confined geometries Articles uri icon

publication date

  • September 2013

start page

  • 13

end page

  • 19

issue

  • SI

volume

  • 185

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 0167-7322

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

  • 1873-3166

abstract

  • Two-dimensional nematics possess peculiar properties that have been studied recently using computer simulation and various theoretical models. Here we review our own contribution to the field using density-functional theory, and present some preliminary simulation results on confined two-dimensional nematics. First we discuss the possible stable bulk phases and phase diagrams and the relation between phases and particle geometry. We then explore the adsorption properties on a single substrate and the confinement effects that arise when the fluid is confined between parallel walls. Next, confinement in circular cavities is presented; this geometry allows us to measure some properties of the simplest defects that arise in two-dimensional nematics. Finally, preliminary Monte Carlo simulation results of confined nematics in circular geometry are shown.

keywords

  • theories of liquid crystals; complex liquids; phase transitions