ELECTRON-DIFFRACTION STUDIES OF SURFACE FREEZING IN HEXATIC-B FILMS

Electron diffraction has been used to study the freezing in free-standing hexatic B films of several members of the n-alkyl 4'-n-alkyloxybiphenyl-4-carboxylate (nmOBC) homologous series. It was found that 65OBC exhibits the surface crystal E phase and the accompanying orientational epitaxy previously observed in 75OBC. In 46OBC, the surfaces also appear to attain a higher order ahead of the interior, but retain a six-fold symmetry before the entire film abruptly transforms to the crystal E phase. In 3(10)OBC, the behaviour is similar to that of 46OBC, but the film breaks prior to the observation of any crystal E transition.