Evolution of Order in Soft Materials under Nanoscale Confinement: Structure and Bonding

Abstract

Soft materials can be confined either at interfaces or as films. In either case, internal forces are developed that, due to the softness of the materials, can cause large scale changes in bonding and structure, at microscopic and/or mesoscopic length scales, which in turn give rise to properties drastically different from bulk matter. Here we focus on the evolution of spontaneous order in simple and complex fluids under one-dimensional geometrical confinement as obtains in ultrathin films and at liquid-solid interfaces. We present a very brief review of research on the structural characteristics of such ordering and the changes in molecular bonding that cause these structural changes. We also discuss some effects of this ordering on some transport properties.