Antiferroelectric surface layers in a liquid crystal as observed by synchrotron X-ray scattering

Abstract

The X-ray reflectivity form the surface of a liquid crystal with terminally polar (cyano substituted) molecules has been studied using a high-resolution triple-axis X-ray spectrometer in combination with a synchrotron source. It is demonstrated that at the surface of the smectic A1 phase a few antiferroelectric double layers develop that can be distinguished from the bulk single layer structure. A model is developed that separates the electron density in a contribution from the molecular form factor, and from the structure factor of the mono-and the bilayers, respectively. With only a few adjustable parameters it accounts for the rather complex observed reflection curve. It shows that (i) the first molecular layer has tails up rather than heads up, (ii) the smectic order parameter of the first mono- and bilayer is saturated, (iii) the antiferroelectric bilayering does decay rather abruptly and not exponentially