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APS » Journals » Phys. Rev. Lett. » Volume 86 » Issue 26
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 5914–5917 (2001)

Capillary Condensation of a Nematic Liquid Crystal Observed by Force Spectroscopy

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K. Kočevar
J. Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

A. Borštnik
Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, University of Ljubljana, Jadranska 19, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

I. Muševič* and S. Žumer
Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, University of Ljubljana, Jadranska 19, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
and J. Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

Received 26 January 2001; published in the issue dated 25 June 2001

See accompanying Physics Focus

We have observed capillary condensation in nanometer-thin films of nematic liquid crystals using force spectroscopy. The liquid crystal was confined to a submicron gap between a flat substrate and a microsphere, attached to the cantilever of an atomic force microscope. A long-ranged and strongly attractive force due to capillary condensation of a nematic phase was observed at temperatures close to the bulk isotropic-nematic phase transition. The critical point, terminating the first-order confined isotropic-nematic transition line, was determined for the first time.

© 2001 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.86.5914
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.86.5914
PACS:
61.30.Hn, 61.30.Pq, 68.08.-p

*Email address: igor.musevic@ijs.si

 
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