Phase transitions and topological defects in discotic liquid crystal droplets with planar anchoring: a Monte Carlo simulation study.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 37485668.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1039/d3sm00534h.
- No licence information is recorded for this record.
- Because redistribution is not established, this page shows the abstract only. Follow the links below for the full text.
Abstract
In this work we present the results of Monte Carlo (MC) simulations at the isothermal-isobaric ensemble for a discotic liquid crystal (DLC) droplet whose surface promotes edge-on (planar) anchoring. For a given pressure, we simulate an annealing process that enables observation of phase transitions within the spherical droplet. In particular, we report a first order isotropic-nematic transition as well as a nematic-columnar transition at the center of the droplet. We found the appearance of topological defects consisting of two disclination lines with ends at the surface of the sphere. We also observed that both transitions, isotropic-nematic and nematic-columnar, occur at lower temperatures as compared to the unconfined system.