Imaging the azimuthal tilt order in monolayers by liquid crystal optical amplification

Monolayers of the amphiphile 1-monopalmitoyl-rac-glycerol at the air-water interface assemble into domains in which the molecular tilt azimuth is orga nized into star-shaped patterns. When the domains are transferred to solid supports as Langmuir-Blodgett films, they are capable of producing a macros copic azimuthal orientation of nematic liquid crystals, which allows the or der in the monolayer to be observed by polarized optical microscopy.