Objective
Nematic liquid crystals - simple examples of complex fluids - have been an extensively investigated system since the discovery of twisted nematic cell (See, for instance, M. Schadt, Liq. Cryst. 14, p.73 1993 and references therein). More recently, with the development of the surface stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystal cell (N. Clark and S.T. Lagerwall, Appl.Phys.Lett. 36, p. 899, 1980), the interest in smectic liquid crystals has increased. These two applications are examples of the planar restricted geometry, with the second one showing the first case of fast and intrinsically bistable system.
With the development of polymer dispersed liquid crystals (for a recent review see P. Drzaic, Liquid Crystal Dispersion, World Scientific, Singapore, 1995), novel anchoring conditions for nematics and smectics (J.W. Doane, in Liquid Crystals: Applications and Uses, edited by B. Bahadhur, World Scientific, 1990, and R. Barberi, G. Durand, in Bistable Nematic Displays, to be published on Advances in Colloid and Interface Science, edited by J. Pattel, Elsevier, 1996), the interest in more general geometries has increased.
All the liquid crystal applications are based on the simple fact that liquid crystals can be easily aligned by external fields or by a proper treatment of the surface of the material in contact with the liquid crystal. The preferred direction imposed by the surface is transmitted into the bulk because of long range orientational order in liquid crystals. The structure of such systems is a result of the competition of intrinsic ordering on one hand and surface and field induced effects on the other, yielding a large variety of fascinating inhomogeneously ordered structures. In addition to a steadily growing number of applications, this richness in phenomena is stimulating the research of liquid crystals in contact with solid substrates.
From this point of view, the systems with high surface to volume ratio (very thin films, liquid crystal-polymer dispersions, and related systems) provide an interesting possibility to study relations between surface interaction, geometry, molecular ordering and dynamics. Liquid crystal orientation by means of light induced isomerisation, dye reorientation (L. Blinov et al., Mol.Mat. 5, p. 237, 1995) or polymerisation (M. Schadt et al., Jpn.J.Appl.Phys. 31, p.2155 1992) are new possibilities to be investigated. Novel surface treatments for ferroelectric and antiferroelectric liquid crystals are suitable (see f.i. A.Jákli and A.Saupe Appl.Phys.Lett. 65, p.2777 1994). Moreover, usual surface treatments gives monostable anchorings and recently the possibility of multistable anchoring (M. Monkade, M. Boix, G. Durand, Europhys.Lett. 5, p.697 1988) and very fast surface realignment (R. Barberi, M. Boix and G. Durand, APPL.Phys.Lett. 55, p.2506 1989) has been experimentally demonstrated also in the case of the simple nematic phase.
We propose a coordinate investigation of liquid crystals close to interfaces, made by leader research groups in the first line on a world level, focusing our activity on the direction of novel industrial applications. The research workplan will include a general modelization of surface properties and experimental work on confined liquid crystals, surface transitions, novel surface treatments for liquid crystal alignment (Polymers, Photopolymers, Langmuir-Blodgett films, surface coating with dielectrics, etc.) and related optical properties.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences physical sciences condensed matter physics soft matter physics
- natural sciences chemical sciences polymer sciences
- engineering and technology materials engineering coating and films
- natural sciences mathematics pure mathematics geometry
- engineering and technology materials engineering liquid crystals
You need to log in or register to use this function
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Data not available
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
87036 Cosenza
Italy
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.