Anchoring transition in a nematic liquid crystal doped with chiral agents

Abstract

Anchoring transition in cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs) was studied in this article. The orientational change is not simple in CLCs; instead of the orientational change of the helical axis, a variety of molecular orientations in cells such as planar, Grandjean, fingerprint, and homeotropic orientations were observed depending on chiral dopant, its concentration and temperature. It is proposed that the competition between helix forming power and preferential surface anchoring must be the origin of this phenomenon. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.