SURFACE AND INTERFACIAL EFFECTS IN NEMATIC LIQUID-CRYSTALLINE STRUCTURES IN POLYMER-SOLUTIONS

A detailed theoretical analysis of nematic LC order in dilute polymer solutions of semirigid polymer molecules was performed. Homogeneous LC states of linear macromolecules described as persistent and freely jointed chains were analyzed numerically, without using any trial functions. Stability of the states characterized by negative order parameters was analyzed General equations describing the concentration and orientational distributions of the segments of a semirigid persistent polymer chain at a surface or an interface of any shape and orientation were examined within the framework of the Onsager approximation; no assumption of the smallness of the order parameter was made. These equations were numerically solved for a planar interface between the truly coexisting nematic and isotropic phases for the case when the interface was perpendicular to the director.