Complete wetting transitions of nematic liquid crystals on a structured substrate

TL;DR

This paper extends classical wetting theory to nematic liquid crystals on structured surfaces, analyzing how their ordered phase influences wetting transitions through theoretical and numerical methods.

Contribution

It introduces a generalized Wenzel law for nematic wetting and investigates the complete wetting transition on structured substrates using Landau-de Gennes modeling.

Findings

Wenzel law is extended to nematic phases.

Conditions for different wetting behaviors are identified.

Numerical simulations confirm theoretical predictions.

Abstract

In this article, we generalize Wenzel law, which assigns an effective contact angle for a droplet on a rough substrate, when the wetting layer has an ordered phase, like a nematic. We estimate the conditions for which the wetting behavior of an ordered fluid can be qualitatively different from the one usually found in a simple fluid. To particularize our general considerations, we will use the Landau-de Gennes mean field approach to investigate theoretically and numerically the complete wetting transition between a nematic liquid crystal and a saw-shaped structured substrate.