Wetting of cholesteric liquid crystals

TL;DR

This paper theoretically examines how cholesteric liquid crystals wet planar substrates, revealing that layer distortions and topological defects significantly influence wetting behavior, either promoting or hindering substrate wetting.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical analysis of wetting in cholesteric liquid crystals, highlighting the effects of layer distortions and topological defects on wetting properties.

Findings

Wetting properties are similar to nematics when layers are undistorted.

Layer distortions lead to non-planar interfaces and defects.

Deformations can either promote or hinder wetting depending on properties.

Abstract

We investigate theoretically the wetting properties of cholesteric liquid crystals at a planar substrate. If the properties of substrate and of the interface are such that the cholesteric layers are not distorted the wetting properties are similar to those of a nematic liquid crystal. If, on the other hand, the anchoring conditions force the distortion of the liquid crystal layers the wetting properties are altered, the free cholesteric-isotropic interface is non-planar and there is a layer of topological defects close to the substrate. These deformations can either promote or hinder the wetting of the substrate by a cholesteric, depending on the properties of the cholesteric liquid crystal.