Influence of bulk nematic orientation on the interface between a liquid crystalline polymer and a flexible polymer.
The structure of the interface between a liquid crystalline polymer (LCP) and a flexible polymer was studied using the three-dimensional bond fluctuation model in Monte Carlo simulations. Orientation in both phases in the neighborhood of the interface is sensitive to the far-field nematic orientation. The more diffuse interface caused by a homeotropic far-field orientation in the LCP results in a substantial reduction in the calculated interfacial tension relative to that for a planar far-field orientation.
Li
X
X
The Benjamin Levich Institute for Physico-Chemical Hydrodynamics, City College of the City University of New York, New York, New York 10031, USA.
Denn
M M
MM