Molecular dynamics simulations were performed for a Gay-Berne discotic fluid confined in a slab geometry for two different anchorings: homeotropic (face-on) and planar (edge-on), and for two different confinement lengths. Our results show that the behaviour of the more confined system in the temperature region of the isotropic–nematic transition is critically influenced by the presence of the walls: the growth of the solid–liquid crystal interface spans over the entire width of the cell, and the character of the transition is changed from first order to continuous. For all the confined systems studied, we observe a higher nematic–columnar transition temperature and a smaller nematic phase region in the phase diagram, as compared with the behaviour of the infinite system.

中文翻译：

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锚固对盘状液晶的相行为的影响

对局限在平板几何形状中的Gay-Berne圆盘状流体进行了分子动力学模拟，以用于两种不同的锚固：垂直（面朝上）和平面（边缘朝上），以及两种不同的约束长度。我们的结果表明，在各向同性-向列相变的温度范围内，更局限的系统的行为受到壁的存在的严重影响：固体-液晶界面的生长跨越了整个单元的宽度，并且过渡的特征从一阶变为连续。对于所有研究的受限系统，与无限系统的行为相比，我们在相图中观察到更高的向列-柱过渡温度和更小的向列相区域。