The influence of surface structure on the discotic liquid crystalline alignment. an infrared spectroscopy study

The type of alignment achieved with discotic liquid crystals is important for a number of applications. It is found to depend decisively on the structure of the substrate. Infrared dichroism experiments are used to study the alignment of truxene and triphenylene cores (see Fig.) on amorphous silicon and polycrystalline ZnSe substrates, revealing considerable differences and hinting at the opportunity to tune the alignment of the materials magnified image.