Introduction to Optical Methods for Characterizing Liquid Crystals at Interfaces

Overview

Journal Langmuir

Publisher American Chemical Society

Specialty Chemistry

Date 2013 Jan 26

PMID 23347378

Citations 27

Authors

Daniel S Miller

Rebecca J Carlton

Peter C Mushenheim

Nicholas L Abbott

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

This Instructional Review describes methods and underlying principles that can be used to characterize both the orientations assumed spontaneously by liquid crystals (LCs) at interfaces and the strength with which the LCs are held in those orientations (so-called anchoring energies). The application of these methods to several different classes of LC interfaces is described, including solid and aqueous interfaces as well as planar and nonplanar interfaces (such as those that define a LC-in-water emulsion droplet). These methods, which enable fundamental studies of the ordering of LCs at polymeric, chemically functionalized, and biomolecular interfaces, are described in this Instructional Review on a level that can be easily understood by a nonexpert reader such as an undergraduate or graduate student. We focus on optical methods because they are based on instrumentation that is found widely in research and teaching laboratories.

Citing Articles

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