Engineering surfaces to explore 2D crystallization KU Leuven
Surfaces and interfaces play a pivotal role in chemistry and physics, because they break phase symmetry. Often ordering effects occur near the surface, which deeply modify the physical properties and chemical reactivity. Thermodynamically, liquid crystals are rather simple systems because their liquid character allows them to relax rapidly and reach equilibrium. A far more complex and richer situation occurs for crystals, for which the ...