Behavior of Edge Dislocation in Lamellar Copolymer-Nanoparticle Composites Thin Films

Reinforcing copolymer matrix by nanoscopic particles leads to highly organized composite organic-inorganic materials. The importance of these materials has already been recognized, and many industrial applications have been reported. The presence of nanoparticles induces an elastic distortion of the copolymer matrix that leads to a change in the mechanical properties of these materials, particularly in the coefficients of compression and bending. These coefficients depend on the dissymmetry of the copolymer chains and on the concentration of nanoparticles. The aim of this work was to extend the linear elasticity of smectic liquid crystals to include the effect of the surface tension at the interface and to predict the depth of the dislocation.