Isotropic-nematic transition in liquid crystals confined between rough walls

TL;DR

This study uses Monte Carlo simulations to investigate how rough confining walls influence the isotropic-nematic phase transition in liquid crystals, revealing that increased roughness shifts the transition to higher pressures.

Contribution

It introduces a simulation approach to analyze the impact of wall roughness on liquid crystal phase behavior, highlighting the shift in transition pressure.

Findings

Rougher walls increase the pressure needed for the isotropic-nematic transition.

The phase transition is sensitive to wall roughness, affecting phase stability.

Monte Carlo simulations effectively model confined liquid crystal systems.

Abstract

The effect of rough walls on the phase behaviour of a confined liquid crystal (LC) fluid is studied using constant pressure Monte Carlo simulations. The LC is modelled as a fluid of soft ellipsoidal molecules and the rough walls are represented as a hard wall with a number of molecules randomly embedded in them. It is found that the isotropic-nematic (IN) transition is shifted to higher pressures for rougher walls.