Advanced Materials, Vol.24, No.5, 658-658, 2012
Substrate-Induced Crystal Plastic Phase of a Discotic Liquid Crystal
A new phase of a known discotic liquid crystal is observed at the interface with a rigid substrate. The structure of the substrate-induced phase has been characterized by atomic force microscopy, specular X-ray diffraction, and small-angle and wide-angle grazing incidence X-ray diffraction. The substrate-induced phase, which has a thickness of similar to 30 nm and a tetragonal symmetry, differs notably from the bulk phase. The occurrence of such phase casts a new light on alignment of discotic liquid crystals.
Keywords:discotic liquid crystals;thin films;grazing incidence X-ray diffraction;crystal plastic phase