Orientational structure transformations caused by the electric-field-induced ionic modification of the interface in nematic droplets

The films of a polymer-dispersed nematic liquid crystal doped with an ionic surfactant were studied. The surface-anchoring modification effect caused by the local increase in the concentration of surface-active ions was observed at the polymer-liquid crystal interface under the action of an electric field. The modification of the boundary conditions leads to the transformation of the orientational structure of the nematic droplets and, as a result, to an appreciable change in their texture patterns and light-scattering efficiency at the interfaces. The monopolar director configurations (normal and curved) arising in the process of orientational structure transformations are considered and their typical textures are demonstrated. The possibility that the monopolar structure can be formed is theoretically substantiated by the computer simulation of the director field in a nematic droplet with the boundary conditions corresponding to the experiment.