SPLAY STRIPE TEXTURES IN LANGMUIR MONOLAYERS

Stripe textures in the liquid condensed phase of Langmuir monolayers h ave been observed by polarized fluorescence microscopy and Brewster an gle microscopy. The textures, which were found in myristic and pentade canoic acids, are associated with regular variations in the molecular tilt azimuth. The stripes are similar to those observed in hexatic pha ses of chiral smectic liquid crystals. They are present in monolayers of achiral molecules because the air/water interface breaks the head-t ail symmetry.