Azimuthal anchoring energy of a chiral nematic in cylindrical cavities

We report on the determination of the azimuthal anchoring energy for a chir al nematic in elongated droplets obtained by phase separation in a polyviny lidene fluoride matrix. H-2-NMR techniques were used to establish the direc tor configuration in samples with different chirality and different sizes o f the quasicylindrical cavities. Minimization of the free energy, including surface, elastic, and field terms, allowed us to measure for the anchoring energy a value of W(Phi)approximate to 10(-4) J/m(2). (C) 1999 American In stitute of Physics. [S0003-6951(99)00829-3].