title: Liquid crystalline nanowires in porous alumina: geometric confinement versus influence of pore walls.
abstract: Aligned liquid crystalline nanowires within ordered porous alumina templates show a pronounced texture on a macroscopic scale. We have investigated the influence of the geometric confinement and the nature of the pore walls on the mesophase formation by means of X-ray diffraction. The apparent texture is the result of a complex interplay of the pore geometry, interfacial phenomena, and the thermal history. Pores with a diameter of a few hundred nm guide the mesophase formation more efficiently than those with a diameter below 100 nm.
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics, Weinberg 2, D-6120 Halle, Germany. steinhart@mpi-halle.de
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Steinhart
authors.forename: Sven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zimmermann
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Göring
authors.forename: Andreas K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Schaper
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Gösele
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Weder
authors.forename: Joachim H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Wendorff
mesh_terms: D000537:Aluminum Oxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D003460:Crystallization / Q000379:methods*; D008422:Materials Testing; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D043942:Nanotubes / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D010316:Particle Size; D044367:Phase Transition; D016062:Porosity; D012996:Solutions; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D012996:Solutions; D000537:Aluminum Oxide