AFM and Optical Investigations of Liquid Crystal Dewetting : Influence of Short and Long-Range Forces

Titelangaben

Fery, Andreas ; Herminghaus, Stephan ; Ibn-Elhaj, Mohammed:
AFM and Optical Investigations of Liquid Crystal Dewetting : Influence of Short and Long-Range Forces.
In: Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals Science and Technology. Section A. Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals. Bd. 330 (1999) Heft 1 . - S. 267-276.
ISSN 1563-5287
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10587259908025601

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Abstract

We have investigated the dewetting morphology of thin films of the liquid crystals 5AB 4 and 5AB 3, from a silicon substrate. For 5AB 4, nucleation and spinodal dewetting can be clearly identified, and from scanning force microscopy of the liquid profiles, details of the effective interface potential can be quantitatively inferred. Due to peculiarities of the wetting forces in this system, the analogy to spinodal decomposition is particularly close. With 5AB 3, an additional, rather complicated dewetting scenario is observed which is connected to the crystallization of droplets which have formed during the initial dewetting process.