SMALL-ANGLE LIGHT-SCATTERING FROM AXIAL NEMATIC DROPLETS

Small angle light scattering (SALS) from the three dimensional anisotropic spherical nematic droplets with an axial director configuration is investigated theoretically in this paper. The authors have performed an analytical interpretation for the light scattering from a single axial nematic droplet, considering an arbitrary orientation of the principal symmetry axis of the droplet. Series of scattering patterns for the axial nematic droplets are presented graphically and compared with each other as well as with those for the ideal spherulites or the radial nematic droplets. The dependence of V(v) scattering on relative polarizabilities between liquid crystals and isotropic matrices is elucidated. The average size of the axial nematic droplets can readily be determined according to the formulae obtained. Hence it is very prospective to apply SALS to distinguish the director configurations of nematic droplets and to make further extensive studies on composite materials containing anisotropic particles such as polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC).