SPLAY STRIPE TEXTURES IN LANGMUIR MONOLAYERS

Stripe textures in the liquid condensed phase of Langmuir monolayers have been observed by polarized fluorescence microscopy and Brewster angle microscopy. The textures, which were found in myristic and pentadecanoic acids, are associated with regular variations in the molecular tilt azimuth. The stripes are similar to those observed in hexatic phases of chiral smectic liquid crystals. They are present in monolayers of achiral molecules because the air/water interface breaks the head-tail symmetry.