Structural and Optical Properties of Smectic Films
A special issue of Crystals (ISSN 2073-4352). This special issue belongs to the section "Liquid Crystals".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2020) | Viewed by 5072
Special Issue Editor
Interests: liquid crystals; nanofluidics; optics of liquid crystals; hydrodynamics of liquid crystals; free-standing smectic films
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
One of the most interesting aspects of many smectic liquid crystals (LCs) is that, under appropriate conditions, they can form free-standing smectic films (FSSFs). In these films, thickness is quantified in units of layers, and a new class of phase transitions, when spontaneous layer-by-layer thinning transitions occur, has been observed. Because there is no substrate, these films represent an excellent model of low-dimensional systems for the study of surface effects as the film thickness is reduced. The surface tension is clearly of fundamental importance to the stability of these films. Moreover, the presence of the surface tension is believed to be responsible for intriguing surface-ordering phenomena exhibited by these films. Unlike the preferential surface melting exhibited by conventional solids, the FSSF/vapor interface appears to enhance the order of the surface layers so that they become ordered at temperatures well above the bulk SmA-Isotropic transition temperatures. Spontaneous layer-thinning transitions have been reported both for compounds exhibiting a first-order phase transition towards the isotropic phase, as well as for compounds that possess a second-order smectic-A-nematic phase transition. A great variety of phenomena can be observed in FSSFs: layer-thinning transitions, stepwise reduction of heat capacity, and sawtooth behavior of the surface tension upon heating the FSSFs above the bulk Sm-A-isotropic transition temperature.
We invite investigators to submit papers that discuss the key points dominating the structural and optical characteristics of free-standing smectic films, as well as the applications of different FSSFs, from theoretical calculations to material explorations and experimental viewing.
Dr. Alexandre Zakharov
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Crystals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- Liquid crystals
- Free standing smectic films
- Structural and optical properties of FSSFs
- Dynamical properties of FSSFs
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.
