Neutron Reflectivity Studies of the Interface Between a Small Molecule Liquid Crystal and a Polymer

Published

April 1, 2002

Author(s)

G W. Lynn, M D. Dadmun, Wen-Li Wu, Eric K. Lin, William E. Wallace

Abstract

In this report, we elucidate the structure of a small molecule liquid crystal/polymer interface using specular neutron reflectivity. More specifically, we examined the interfacial transition zone width of a small molecule liquid crystal/polymer as a function of increasing temperature. We found that the interface between a thin film (nearly equal to} 1000 thick) of the liquid crystal 4'-n-Octyl-4-Cyanobiphenyl (8CB) and a thin film ({nearly equal to} 800 thick) of deuterated poly(methyl methacrylate) is broad and (d-PMMA) broadens with increasing temperature. It is also observed that the thin film geometry influences the mixing behavior of the PMMA/8CB system. These results may have implications on current theories of liquid crystal display devices that are formed by the phase separation of liquid crystal polymer mixtures.

Citation

Liquid Crystals

Volume

29

Issue

No. 4

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

liquid crystal, liquid crystal/polymer interface, neutron reflectivity, surface alignment, thin film

Citation

Lynn, G. , Dadmun, M. , Wu, W. , Lin, E. and Wallace, W. (2002), Neutron Reflectivity Studies of the Interface Between a Small Molecule Liquid Crystal and a Polymer, Liquid Crystals, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=851816 (Accessed October 26, 2025)