Liquid crystalline nanowires in porous alumina: geometric confinement versus influence of pore walls.

Aligned liquid crystalline nanowires within ordered porous alumina templates show a pronounced texture on a macroscopic scale. We have investigated the influence of the geometric confinement and the nature of the pore walls on the mesophase formation by means of X-ray diffraction. The apparent texture is the result of a complex interplay of the pore geometry, interfacial phenomena, and the thermal history. Pores with a diameter of a few hundred nm guide the mesophase formation more efficiently than those with a diameter below 100 nm.