Effects of Polymer Anchoring on Nematic Liquid Crystals at Nanostructured Polymeric Surfaces.

A simplified model of the nanostructured polymeric surface was proposed, characterized by a one-dimensional periodic stripe patterned surface with alternate planar and homeotropic anchoring. We investigate the effect of both the coupling of nematic liquid crystals with alignment layer polymers and the coupling of the polymers with the substrate surface on the anchoring of nematic liquid crystals at such a surface using the extended anisotropic surface energy form proposed by Alexe-Ionescu et al. In our theoretical treatment, we assume the equal anchoring strength of the two anchoring regions. Our results show that the coupling of the polymer with the surface will affect the director field of the nematic, and reduce the relaxation distance as well as the total free energy of the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]