On Interlayer Interaction of 40.8 Free-Standing Films: Experiment and Theory

Substrate-free films of N-(4-n-butoxybenzylidene-4-n-octylaniline (40.8) show a fascinating interlayer interaction. This interaction significantly affects the next ordering transition, or the second hexatic-B order, upon cooling. The Landau-de Gennes theory is employed to model the effect of the enhanced order by surface-ordering field. Based on this model, it is found that the surface-order penetration depth to be less than one layer.